Our Patroness: Saint Rafqa

Born in Northern Metn, Lebanon in 1832, Saint Rafqa had an intense vocation to religious life. She was part of two religious communities during her life, and it was as a nun in the Lebanese Maronite Order that she prayed to God with a spceial request.

She asked God's permission to experience a small part of the suffering experienced by Jesus Christ during his Passion. Immediately, Saint Rafqa's prayer was answered and she experienced intense head and eye pain, eventually leading to the loss of sight in one eye and joint issues throughout her body.

Her hands, however, were never affected by her suffering. As an act of praise to God, she used this blessing to knit socks and make clothing for others. After a life of prayer and service to both God and those around her, she was called home to the Lord in 1914. She was beautified on November 17th, 1985 by Saint Pope John Paul II. Her feast day is celebrated on March 23rd.

I chose Saint Rafqa as my business' patron on the advice of my husband, as she is the unoffical patron saint of knitting. As I got to sit with her life story and how she lived for Christ, the similarities kept growing. The name she took as a nun—Rafqa—is the Lebanese equivalent to Rebecca. Her beautification day is also my birthday.

Besides these connections, it is her desire to serve others through the act of making clothing—even in the midst of intense personal suffering—that inspires my own work. I pray that just like Saint Rafqa, I may always praise God for all he has blessed me with and that I use those blessings to serve others.