Majdi Allawi (born February 18, 1970 in Byblos, Byblos District,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

), is a Lebanese

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, convert to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

from

Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...

and founder of the association Bonheur du Ciel, which helps young drug addicts.

Biography

Allawi comes from a Lebanese Shia Muslim family and converted to Catholicism on August 15, 1981 when he was only 11 years old. Becoming a Catholic priest, he founded the association Bonheur du Ciel, which essentially helps young addicts in Lebanon. He also founded in Bourj Hammoud the first restaurant for the poor of the country. On the first day of

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

2014, when he wanted to give one of his kidneys to a person waiting for a transplant, medical tests reveal that he has a serious stomach problem due to a very severe virus. Dying, he was cured on the day of the

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

without medical explanation, few days after his son had been praying at the tomb of St.

Charbel Makhlouf Charbel Makhlouf, Lebanese Maronite Order, O.L.M. ( ar, شربل مخلوف, May 8, 1828 – December 24, 1898), born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf and venerated as Saint Charbel, was a Maronite Church, Maronite monk and priesthood (Catholic Church), p ...

, at Annaya. He concludes: "On August 15, 1981, I was born for the first time in the

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

as a Christian. On August 15, 2014, I was born again, by the gift of healing that

Saint Charbel Charbel Makhlouf, O.L.M. ( ar, شربل مخلوف, May 8, 1828 – December 24, 1898), born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf and venerated as Saint Charbel, was a Maronite monk and priest from Lebanon. During his life, he obtained a wide reputation for ...

granted me". In 2017 Father Allawi suffered an accident when he crashed his car and his son was with him, but they survived to it.mtv.com.lb
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References

External links

* http://www.bonheurduciel.com/en/about-us {{DEFAULTSORT:Allawi, Majdi 1970 births Living people People from Byblos Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Shia Islam Lebanese Maronites Eastern Catholic priests Lebanese former Shia Muslims