ASTORIA — Mary Giudice had never heard of St. Sharbel until her cousin, Deacon Michael Chirichella, introduced her to the obscure 19th-century Lebanese priest. The introduction came at a time when Mary could really use help from a saint.
In 2023, she lost vision in her right eye due to a stroke. Her doctors initially gave her bad news: nothing could be done to restore her eyesight. But she did regain her sight, and she believes that St. Sharbel is responsible.
Giudice loves to talk about St. Sharbel to anyone who will listen. She did just that when she offered her testimony at a St. Sharbel Healing Mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Astoria on July 24.
“There’s no other explanation of why I got my sight back other than St. Sharbel,” she said. “He helps people. He really does. I’m proof of that, and so is my cousin Michael.”
The healing Mass, which Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Raymond Chappetto celebrated, took place on the Feast of St. Sharbel.
Last year, Deacon Chirichella, who survived a bout with bladder cancer and attributed his positive outcome to the intercession of St. Sharbel, came to Giudice’s house with oil that had been blessed in the saint’s name and applied it to her forehead.
Deacon Chirichella, who is assigned to the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Williamsburg, reminded his cousin that St. Sharbel is the patron saint of those who suffer in body and soul and urged her to believe in his intercession.
Ten days after that visit, Giudice started to regain her eyesight. Within months, it was nearly fully restored.
The Mass was a family affair for the Chirichellas and the Giudices. Not only did Giudice give her testimony while Deacon Chirchella sat on the altar, but the pastor of St. Joseph, Father Vincent Chirichella, who is Deacon Chirichella’s brother, was on the altar too.
At one point during the Mass, the faithful lined up in the center aisle to be blessed by Bishop Chappetto and Father Chirichella with the oil of St. Sharbel.
Following the Mass, a first-class relic of the saint, a tiny portion of his blood, was set up on a small table, and the faithful were invited to venerate it. As with the blessing, it drew a long line of people. Some simply prayed. Others touched the relic — seemingly asking St. Sharbel to touch their lives.
Father Chirichella said that Catholics should remember that St. Sharbel is there for all sorts of healing, not just for catastrophic illness.
“When people were seeking Jesus, they were seeking three levels of healing. They were seeking emotional healing. And they were seeking spiritual healing. And some were physically afflicted,” he explained. “The Lord heals us on all those levels, and the saints accompany us along that journey to meet the Lord.”
July 24 is a significant date at St. Joseph’s Church for another reason, according to Bishop Chappetto. On that date one year ago, he came to St. Joseph’s and celebrated Mass to dedicate a new Saints Cove inside the church containing statues of St. Sharbel, St. Peregrine, and Blessed Carlo Acutis. “And the devotion to these three figures has become a wonderful event for this parish of St Joseph,” he added.
St. Sharbel (1828-1898) was a Maronite priest in Lebanon who worked to bring together Christians, Muslims, and Druzes. He gained a reputation for holiness, and people would flock to him to ask for his prayers. Pope Paul VI canonized St. Sharbel in 1977.
Bishop Chappetto said that although St. Sharbel is not as well known as other saints, that is starting to change.
“Tonight, on his feast day, we gather to honor this rather obscure saint,” she added. “And at the same time, he is a saint who is becoming so well known and so well loved.”
Deacon Chirichella and his cousin Mary Giudice are eager to promote St. Sharbel’s good works: “We’re starting to promulgate it more and more.”