Feast of Our Lady of Sion – January 20

Alphonse Ratisbonne was born in Strasbourg, France in 1814 to a wealthy Jewish family. He studied law and was not interested in religion. After the baptism of his older brother Theodore, he even opposed his conversion to Christianity. However, on a trip to Rome in 1842, he happened to visit the Church of Saint Andrew and their the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him. As a result of this dramatic vision, Alphonse was baptized and assisted his brother in founding the Congregation of the Sisters of Sion in 1843. He joined the Jesuits in 1847 however left shortly thereafter in order to help his brother and to this purpose travelled to Jerusalem in 1855. In the Holy City he worked hard to build the three convents that belong to the Sisters and Brothers of Sion: Ecce Homo in the Old City, the convent in Ein Karem and Saint Peter in the center of the western part of Jerusalem.

Alphonse died in Jerusalem in 1884 and was buried in the convent in Ein Karem.

We wish our sisters and brothers from the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion a happy feast.