Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayes
Lebanese saint (1832–1914)
Feast: 23 March (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Boutroussyeh (Pierina) Choboq Ar-Rayès was born at Himlaya, in the northern Metn, Lebanon, on 29 June 1832, the only child of her parents, and was baptised on 7 July 1832. She witnessed with her own eyes the martyrdom of many people.
As Sister Rafqa of the Lebanese Maronite Order of nuns, blind for thirty years and afflicted with other illnesses throughout her body, she persevered in continual prayer, trusting in God alone, and freely accepted and loved her suffering in union with Christ crucified.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Maronite nun who offered decades of blindness and pain in union with the Cross.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Rebecca (Rafqa Ar-Rayès)
- Wikidata Q268204 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.