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| A healing that baffled doctors, through the intercession of Brother Estephan Nehme |
“Mama, I see you. You do not need to close my eye anymore; I can see.” – Clara, who recovered from blindness
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A healing that baffled doctors, through the intercession of Brother Estephan Nehme
14/07/2026
(See translation in Arabic section)
Sydney- C.S. Middle East Times Int'l: Fairouz Abboud never expected that a simple mistake she noticed while teaching her daughter Clara would lead to a long period of worry before ending, according to the family's faith, with healing through the intercession of Brother Estephan Nehme.
The story began in February 2010, when Clara was aged 10. While she was reading, her mother noticed that she was mispronouncing some letters, so she asked her why. The child replied that she saw a dot appear in her eye and then disappear.
Fairouz says: “We had a doctor's appointment the next day, so I took her for an eye exam. The doctor started by examining her right eye, the one she was seeing the dot in, and explained that she had a vision impairment.” When he covered her right eye to examine her left, Clara suddenly said, “It's dark. I can't see anything.”
These words were a shock to her parents, as the family had not known that Clara had lost sight in one eye. Her father tried to stand in front of her and ask if she could see him, but she repeated that she saw nothing but darkness.
The doctor ordered a series of specialised images and tests, and the results were devastating: her retina was severely damaged, as if it were “burnt and extinguished”, and according to the medical diagnosis, there was no possibility of repairing it or restoring her vision.
Fairouz continued, “The doctor told us that nothing could be done and asked us to accept our daughter's condition. We returned home in shock, but we did not lose hope. We started asking around for other doctors, hoping to find a treatment or a glimmer of hope.”
The family consulted several doctors and specialists until they presented Clara's case to a leading professor of ophthalmology. However, his answer was no different from the previous ones. He confirmed that the retinal damage was permanent and advised the parents not to continue searching for treatment, as there was no medical hope of restoring her sight.
A Dream That Changed the Course of the Story
In late May, Fairouz dreamt of a man who introduced himself as Brother Estephan Nehme. She says she followed him into the monastery, smelling a pleasant fragrance that filled the air. Then she saw him in a room where he was working, before he gave her something resembling yeast and placed it in her hand.
She adds, “I continued following him, and outside I saw a green meadow and flowing water. My daughter, Clara, was in that meadow. I said to him, ‘How beautiful this green colour is, but her eyes have never seen it before.’ He looked at me and then continued walking without saying a word.”
Fairouz woke up the next morning and told her husband, Rabih, about the dream. That same day, her husband, who works in construction, received a call from an engineer asking him to carry out work related to a stone foundation belonging to Brother Estephan at the monastery. When he returned home, he told his wife, “Your dream has come true. I've been given a job at Brother Estephan's monastery.” But she replied that the dream was not complete yet, because Brother Estephan had given her “yeast”, and she felt that this sign held another meaning yet to be revealed.
From that day forward, the family intensified their prayers and began a novena to Brother Estephan, seeking his intercession and Clara's healing.
Praying Near the Body
On June 18th, Fairouz learned that her husband was heading to the monastery without telling her the details of his mission, as there was a job that could not be announced at that time. Curious, she decided to follow him.
When she arrived at the monastery, her husband, Rabih, was surprised by her presence and asked her to return home to avoid any trouble. However, she insisted on staying, driven by faith.
Fairouz entered the monastery, and there she saw the fountain and the green spaces that reminded her of the scene she had seen in her dream. She blessed herself and stood to pray, then met a monk carrying several rosaries.
She asked him about them, and he told her they were rosaries given to him by the faithful, promising to give her one. When he handed her the rosary, he said, “Pray for me so that I may be sanctified.” She replied, “And you, remember my daughter Clara in your prayers.”
The monk asked her about her daughter's illness, and she told him that one of her eyes was “extinguished” and that she could not see with it.
At that moment, Fairouz continued her prayers and asked for the intercession of Brother Estephan. She managed to approach his body and receive a blessing, praying in faith that he would restore her daughter's sight.
A Mysterious Voice in the Night
Meanwhile, Clara was at a friend's house while Brother Estephan's body was being carried inside the monastery.
Clara recounts what happened to her, saying, “I was 10 years old, and I was sitting alone in my room when I heard a voice telling me to go outside. I looked around, but there was no one there.” The voice repeated itself three times, telling me, “Go outside.”
Clara felt something she could not explain. She was not feverish or in pain, but she felt a change she could not describe. She rushed to her grandmother and told her what she had heard and how she felt. At that very moment, her parents were at the convent, praying and asking Brother Estephan to heal their daughter.
“I See You, Mama”
The next morning, Mother Fairouz arrived at the grandmother's house, after the grandmother had told her what had happened to Clara the night before.
The mother approached her daughter and began covering one eye, trying to see if there had been any change in her vision. But Clara surprised her by saying, “Mama, I see you. You do not need to close my eye anymore; I can see.”
The moment was difficult for the mother to describe. The child, whom the doctors had confirmed was permanently blind due to retinal damage, was beginning to see normally. The family repeated the medical tests and scans to confirm what had happened. After the beatification of Brother Estephan Nehme, Clara underwent further tests which revealed a perplexing paradox: her retina was still, medically speaking, damaged and dilated as before, but Clara's vision was perfectly fine.
Clara says, “The doctor told me that someone with the damage to my eyes should not be able to see, and could not even undergo routine eye exams because they would be blind. But through the intercession of Brother Estephan, I can see you all today.”
Clara was later able to resume her studies and carry out her daily activities normally.
She concludes her testimony by saying, “Brother Estephan has been with me throughout my life, and I always pray to him and ask him to stay by my side. Through his intercession, I regained my sight, continued my studies, and lived a normal life.”
Her mother believes that what happened was not just a medical improvement, but a complete divine grace that came after a dream, prayer, and receiving a blessing from Brother Estephan's body.
She says, “I thank Brother Estephan for the grace he gave us. The doctors said there was no hope, but today Clara can see and lives a normal life. For us, that yeast he placed in my hand during the dream was the beginning of hope that grew through faith and prayer until it restored the light to my daughter's eyes.” |
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