Al Hardini: Saint Charbel's Teacher

From Al Hardini the Monk and the Priest.

In 1856, The Apostolic representative Brunoni appointed Father Laurencius as Superior General for the Lebanese Maronite Order, and he also appointed as Vicars General: Youssef Rahme from Bsharre, Gebrayel from Harissa, Nehmetallah Kassab from Hardine and Karubim from Bkassine. In the same year, the Hermit Father Alishaa asked his Brother the Vicar Nehmetallah to transfer the hermit Charbel to the Monastery of Kfifane in order to give him the priesthood education, as he used to see in him a priest and Saint. Al Hardini was teaching the student monks theology, and he said on one occasion:”I have a student who is a Saint, he is Charbel from Bekaakafra.”

During Al Hardini’s third and last mandate as Vicar General, the Maronite Order acquired the printing facilities at the Monastery of Tamish in 1856 at the price of 75.000 piaster, and it was equipped with Arabic, Syriac and Latin printing characters. It also included a paper cutter, archiving and binding equipments. In 1856 the Antioch of Jaffa was founded, the Antioch of Baalbeck and the mill of Nahr El Kalb in 1857, and the school of Wadi Jezzine in 1858.

Monastery of Saint Moses in Al Douar, Metn

Father Al Hardini died before the end of his mandate as vicar general. After his death, light started to come out of his tomb, many healings took place and his body remained intact. These supernatural events which were undoubtedly coming from God have shaken the Maronite Order, especially the outlawed monks who were not under the submission of Father Laurencius the Superior General, and who were creating the division inside the Maronite Order. Most of these monks were from the Metn area and they were at the Monastery of Saint Moses in Al Douar. With Al Hardini’s intercession with the Most High, they finally declared their total obedience to the Superior General in 1859 and the Maronite Order was unified again until this day, in spite of the numerous problems and dramatic events that took place in Lebanon, especially in 1860 when more than 24,000 Maronites were murdered in a genocide because of their Faith. 

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