Location 
The Monastery of Saint Maron is located in the village of Annaya, one of the villages in the Jbeil region, in the Governorate of Mount Lebanon. It rises 1200 meters above sea level and is situated 52 km from the capital, Beirut. The Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul is located on the hill opposite the monastery, at an altitude of 1350 meters.

Name 
Annaya is a Syriac name derived from “ʿAnāyā,” which means the cantor or the psalmist, or from “ʿAnūyā,” which refers to the ascetic or the hermit.

History of the Monastery
In 1820, the Lebanese Maronite Order undertook the foundation of a new monastery dedicated to Saint Maron. The construction of the first part of the monastery began in 1828, the year of Saint Charbel’s birth. In 1829, during the general chapter of the Order held at the Monastery of Our Lady of Tamish, it was decided to establish the Monastery of Saint Maron in Annaya. Father Sarkis el-Kartbawi was its first superior, followed by Father Yuhanna el-Kaakoury. They built a few rooms and a church with a wooden roof, thanks to the support of Father General Ignace Bleibel, who provided furniture and goods for the monastery. The monastery remained in this state until 1838, the year of the general chapter that elected Father Emmanuel el-Chababi as Superior General. With his council, he decided to rebuild the monastery in its current form. Father Libāos Dagher el-Tannouri was appointed superior. The works began on May 8, 1839, with the construction of the well, the cellars, and the church, and were completed on October 20, 1841. After the beatification of Charbel Makhlouf in 1965, the Lebanese Maronite Order undertook the construction of a new church to accommodate the large number of faithful coming to Annaya. The church was inaugurated in 1974.

Saint Charbel 
This monastery, like other major monasteries of the Lebanese Maronite Order, served as a novitiate. It was here that Saint Charbel Makhlouf pronounced his monastic vows on November 1, 1853. His name appears in the records of the Monastery of Annaya for the Order’s assemblies in 1868, 1871, and 1874.
For 47 years of monastic life, Father Charbel tirelessly carried out manual labor in all seasons, taking care of the monastery’s tasks and its fields. He cut wood in the forest, carried heavy loads and baskets of grapes to the winepress without ever tasting a single grape. He worked the land with the conviction that his labor contributed to the work of the Creator, who gave us the world so that we might rejoice in completing it.

The miracle of the water turned into wine at Cana inaugurated the era of Jesus’ miracles; likewise, the miracle of the water lamp at Annaya opened the book of Charbel’s wonders. At the Monastery of Saint Maron, Father Charbel lit his lamp with water, illuminated the darkness, and continued his prayer and meditation in the love of his Creator.

In 1885, swarms of locusts darkened the sky above the fields of Annaya and the neighboring villages. The superior ordered Father Charbel to bless water and sprinkle it over the fields. All the blessed fields were spared. Inhabitants of nearby villages rushed to obtain holy water, and their fields were also protected. At harvest time, a hundred people from the village of Ihmej came to reap the monastery’s fields free of charge as a sign of gratitude.

Life of the Monastery 
Thanks to the presence of the tomb and body of Saint Charbel, this monastery has become a global pilgrimage site, attracting thousands of faithful from all confessions and backgrounds. God has performed many miracles through the intercession of Saint Charbel, especially after 1950.
Following the example of Saint Charbel, who united heaven and earth, the Monastery of Saint Maron – Annaya is engaged in remarkable agricultural activities and various artisanal productions such as wine, jams, and dairy products.

The Monastery Sites 
Today, in addition to the monastery church and the cloister reserved for the monks, the ground floor houses a museum containing monastic and priestly garments as well as liturgical objects that belonged to Saint Charbel and the monks. The museum also holds the copper and glass coffins in which the saint’s body was displayed to visitors, as well as the sheets and garments soaked with water and sweat that his body exuded for 70 years after his death. The current tomb of the saint is made of cedar wood, adorned with a cedar of Lebanon and the cross of Christ.

The museum also features a model representing the saint’s family, an example of the mountain Maronite family gathered in prayer before a meal. One can also see crutches and canes left by faithful healed from paralysis or other illnesses. Thousands of letters from around the world are preserved there, requesting the saint’s intercession and blessing.

Let us not forget the library, which contains spiritual books in several languages, as well as souvenirs of the monastery’s works and blessings of incense and oil from the saint.

Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul – Annaya History of the Construction 
The Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul, affiliated with the Monastery of Saint Maron – Annaya, began construction in 1798 by Youssef Bou Ramiya and Daoud Issa Khalifeh, natives of the village of Ihmej, on the hill of Roueisset Annaya. They completed the construction of the monastery in 1811 and named the sanctuary, built upon ancient ruins, “Transfiguration of the Lord,” with the intention of living there as hermits, detached from the world.

The monastery consisted of a few rooms and a church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, separated by a portico leading to a room where wood was stored.
The Maronite Patriarch Jean Helou changed the name of the monastery on August 9, 1812, renaming it “Monastery of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.”

Youssef and Daoud, having become independent hermits without belonging to any religious order, lived in the monastery they had built and attracted a few young men from Ihmej, transmitting to them the monastic habit. The first was called Brother Youssef, the second Brother Pierre, who later entered the priesthood and acquired many properties for the monastery.

Transfer to the Maronite Order 
As some inhabitants of Ihmej lived near this monastery, it became necessary to have a priest to celebrate Mass, provide religious services, and guide souls toward salvation.

Youssef and Daoud requested the Superior General of the Lebanese Maronite Order, Father Ignace Bleibel, on November 20, 1814, to send a priest for this mission. They entrusted him with full management of the monastery and the surrounding lands, in accordance with a decree from Patriarch Jean Helou addressed to the Superior General.

From 1814 onward, these young men ceded the Monastery of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, along with its possessions, to the Lebanese Maronite Order. Brother Youssef remained at the Monastery of Saint Maron in Annaya until his death in a pious old age, filled with acts of devotion, on May 7, 1853, under the direction of Father Antonios el-Bani.

In 1820, the Maronite Order considered founding a new monastery at this location in the name of Saint Maron, but Father Ignace Bleibel deemed the site unsuitable due to its exposure to harsh weather and intense cold. He decided to build it in a more favorable location, choosing the hill where the Monastery of Saint Maron currently stands.

As for the Monastery of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, it was transformed into a hermitage in 1828. The first hermit from the Maronite Order to reside there was Father Elisée el-Hardini, brother of Saint Nehmetallah el-Hardini. Several hermits are mentioned as having lived in this hermitage.

Sites of the Hermitage 
Today, the hermitage includes, in addition to the church, rooms containing liturgical objects and agricultural tools once used by the hermits. Father Charbel’s room holds a jute cloth carpet spread on the floor and an oak stump on which he rested his head during his rare hours of sleep. Another room contains spiritual books that Saint Charbel used to read, and where he spent his nights in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and an image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which remains present in the inner chamber. This image was offered by Saint Nehmetallah el-Hardini to his hermit brother Elisée.

A walking path connects the monastery to the hermitage, called the “Path of the Saints.” It begins at the entrance courtyard of the monastery, in front of a statue of Saint Charbel who blesses us and guides us with his hand toward the path of the Lord. One passes by a statue of the Virgin Mary, who accompanies us on our journey toward holiness. The path crosses a forest of oaks and pines, inviting contemplation of nature and entry into the inner desert to listen to the voice of the Lord. The ascent continues to the summit, where a white cross stands planted in the rock, embracing the mountain, facing the storms, turned toward the hermitage on the opposite hill, drawing its strength from it. We too are filled with Christ and continue our journey along the way of Calvary, climbing to the hermitage on the hill of the Transfiguration, where Saint Charbel stripped himself, sanctified himself, and was transfigured during 23 years of hermitage in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is worth noting that the names given to this hill and its surroundings are inspired by holy places. The summit of Annaya bears the name “Mount of the Transfiguration,” the name “Tourzya” to the south is borrowed from “Tourzite,” the Mount of Olives. To the east lies “Baydar Arona the Jebusite,” and the name Annaya, given to the hill where the Monastery of Saint Maron and its hermitage were built, may derive from “Bethany.” Finally, to the north one sees the “Rock of Caiaphas,” and to the west a sanctuary dedicated to “Joachim and Anne.” Could it be that God prepared this mountain as a new Golgotha on earth and another Mount of the Transfiguration, a starting point for a new radiance of the light of salvation and the extension of the mystery of redemption through the ages and generations?