Catholicism portal Nimatullah Kassab OLM, also known as "Al-Hardini" in reference to his birth village, (1808 – 14 December 1858) was a Lebanese monk, priest and scholar of the Maronite Church.

[2] As a boy, Youssef attended the school run by the monks of the Lebanese Maronite Order at the Monastery of St. Anthony in the village of Houb.

[1] Kassab made his religious profession of vows on 14 November 1830, after which he was sent to the Monastery of Saints Cyprian and Justina in Kfifan, in the Batroun District, to pursue higher studies in preparation for ordination, which took place on Christmas Day 1833.

[1] Among his students was a famed member of the order, Charbel Makhlouf, now widely venerated by the entire Catholic Church.

Such was the reverence with which he was held during his life, that his body was exposed to the veneration of the public until 1927, when a Committee of Inquiry into his possible canonization had completed its work.

On another occasion, it is believed Kassab wanted to celebrate his daily Mass, but his usual altar boy did not arrive at church on time.

Kassab was thought to have once prayed over and blessed the provisions box (which contained wheat and other foodstuffs) at the monastery of El-Kattara which was almost empty.

One such healing was supposedly granted to an Orthodox blind man, Moussa Saliba, from the town of Bteghrine (El-Maten).

An incurable illness was attacking both of his legs, which rendered them dry, devoid of flesh, and twisted to the point of crippling him.

According to other sources in the church, on 26 September 1987, Andre Najm accompanied family and friends to the monastery of Kfifane where he prayed fervently at the grave of Kassab.

On 1 July 1997, the General Assembly of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which includes twenty-four cardinals, accepted the miracle attributed to the intercession of Kassab.

On 7 July 1997, in the presence of Pope John Paul II, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints published the decree accepting the miracle.

Kassab's beatification by Pope John Paul II was held at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on Sunday, 10 May 1998.