New book – “Sister of Sion”

Sister Regine, a veteran member of the Hebrew speaking Catholic kehillot, belongs to the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion. She was born to a Jewish family in Bulgaria almost 93 years ago. Ruth Danon tells the fascinating story of Regine, from her childhood in Bulgaria right until present times. Born into an affluent Jewish family in Bulgaria, Regine was educated in a college of the Sisters of Sion. Regine’s family lost everything and fled from Bulgaria in the wake of the Nazi invasion. Regine’s mother and younger brother died when the boat that was carrying them to safety sank. After a short stay in Turkey, Regine reached Palestine and after a short time joined up with the Sisters of Sion, she was baptized and entered the convent. In her life as a sister, she served in Alexandria in Egypt, in a school run by the sisters, and thereafter in Tunisia and Turkey. Before the 1967 War, Regine was residing in the convent of the Sisters of Sion in the Old City of Jerusalem, on the Via Dolorosa (part of Jordan then), at Ecce Homo. During the war, she met up with Yehuda Danon, an Israeli military doctor who came to the convent in search of Jordanian soldiers who had taken refuge there. This meeting gave birth to a long friendship and Yehuda’s wife decided to document Regine’s story and publish it as a book.

The book’s launch was attended by people from the different spheres of Regine’s life: family members (four generations of the Canetti family were present), Regine’s sisters from the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, members of the Saint James Vicariate for Hebrew Speaking Catholics, friends and acquaintances of Regine and of Yehuda and Ruth Danon. The ceremony began with a song from the life of the Hebrew speaking Catholics, sung by Benny and Tiago, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent”. Yehuda Danon then surveyed the history of the writing of the book in the friendship between the Danons and Regine. Father David, responsible for the Hebrew speaking Catholic communities in Israel, spoke as well and warmly recommended the book. Sister Anne-Catherine represented the Sisters of Sion and underlined the importance of the project of remembrance. She ended her words with a heartfelt prayer for Regine. Finally, Regine’s great nephew, Yoni, spoke in the name of the family and he thanked Ruth Danon for the project of writing which revealed the journey of his aunt.

The book was published by Steimatzky.