Simone Sruji was born on June 27 1877, the last of ten children. When he was only 3, he lost both parents in a matter of a few months and his grand mother had to care for him. Simon was later sent to the Farming School of Beit Gemál where he studied and later entered the institute of the Salesians as coadjutor. He would remain in Beit Gemál the whole of his life. He taught many small Muslim children, who called him Mu'allem Sruji. He worked also as a miller and nurse. Since there was no doctor available to the poor, the poor came to him. In his work, Simon was able to make the Gospel alive with action and prayer. People trusted his prayer and asked him to bless the sick and the children. Little by little, people came to trust his judgment also, and so he was called to pacify fighting neighbours. Whenever he could, he would spend his time before the Eucharist. When Fr. Rua, successor of Don Bosco, visited the Holy Land in 1908, he asked his confreres to follow Simon and record his words and deeds, because “he is a saint”. He died of malaria on November 1943. All the people of Beit Gemál and surrounding villages came to give him the last greeting. He was laid to peace near the tomb of Saint Stephen in Beit Gemál.

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