St. Rafqa

St. Rafqa, also known as Rebecca, was born in Lebanon in 1832. She was an only child and raised in a devoutly Christian home. Her mother died when she was seven. Following the death, her father faced financial struggles and sent Rafqa to Damascus to work as a servant.

She returned home in 1847 to learn that her father had remarried. Her stepmother wanted Rafqa to marry her brother, while an aunt wanted Rafqa to marry a cousin. Instead, Rafqa joined the Mariamette religious order.

As a religious sister, she worked as a teacher and helped establish a school for girls. In her own time, she studied Arabic, writing, and arithmetic. When the Mariamette order faced a crisis, Rafqa  reportedly heard messages from heaven to remain a nun but directing her to enter the Lebanese Maronite Order. She joined her new order in 1872.

In 1885, she asked Christ to share in his suffering. She immediately felt pain in her head and eyes. Her superior sent her to Beirut to seek treatment. Surgery was unsuccessful, and she lost one eye. For the next 12 years, she continued to have pain, but she remained joyful and patient in the suffering.

When she died on March 23, 1914, many people witnessed a light that appeared on her grave for three nights. She is a patron of sick people and loss of parents. Her feast day is March 23.