Our founders

Br Yohanan Elihai awarded for his contribution to bringing people together through teaching of the spoken Arabic Palestinian language

André served as a deacon in the Hebrew speaking communities for thirteen years before he returned to France. We learnt that he passed away recently.

Father David wrote a short appreciation of Little Sister Sara, who passed away on March 28, 2016.

Suzanne Millet passed away on Saturday, March 28, 2015. May her memory be a source of blessing.

Little Brother Yaacov spent 45 years as a discreet witness to the Gospel in Israel and he died at the age of 95 on October 22, 2014. We quote here from the words of Little Brother Yohanan at the funeral that took place in Jerusalem on October 23, 2014.

Stella Tsur from Haifa, a survivor of the Shoah, has written her memoirs, entitled “Suppose it happened to your child”. The book is now available in Hebrew on the internet.

Anna Dobrucka left her mark on the Haifa kehilla and we remember her with gratitude.

Hanna Kleinberger was a member of the Jerusalem kehilla for more than forty years and contributed greatly to it. She passed away on August 6, 2012.

Elena Dobos was born in Rumania in 1919 and left home at the age of 15 in order to live with the Sisters of of Our Lady of Sion. She joined the congregation during the Second World War and was sent to Rome, where she actively participated in the congregation's activities in favor of the persecuted Jews.

Little Sister Aliza (1922-2011) participated actively in the foundation of the Hebrew speaking Catholic communities and in their development. We publish here extensive segments of the words of Brother Yohanan Elihai at her funeral in Ein Karem on February 17, 2011.

On January 30, Claire Friocourt passed away at the age of 85. Claire was a presence of joy, prayer and friendship in our communities in Israel and we thank God for all the gifts He gave us through her.

Yehoshua Blum contributed to the translation of the liturgy into Hebrew. Brother Yohanan Elihai from the Jerusalem community, who worked with him, writes about him after his death in Germany.

Edda Quattrini was born on January 9, 1929, in Rome. Although she was named for a daughter of Mussolini, she stressed that her name in Hebrew and Chaldean meant "community" and her identification with the ecclesial community was a motivating force in her life.

Cécile Pilverdier of the Jerusalem kehilla shares a memory of Father Michel de Goedt, recently deceased in France.  

This year Father Gregor Pawlowski celebrates 50 years since receiving priestly ordination. For the past 38 years he has been serving the Hebrew-speaking and Polish-speaking communities in Israel and remains active in all aspects of the life of the Church. We would like to express our joy for his faithful service on the ocassion of his fifty years anniversary. We would like to exprewss not only our admiration for his person but also our deepest gratitude for everything he has done, is doing and still will do. Here we publish the story of Yaacov Tsvi Griner known among us as Father Gregor.

Father Isaac Jacob, Benedictine, was of Jewish American origin and arrived in Israel in 1975. He is fondly remembered in the Hebrew-speaking communities, especially in Beer Sheba where he regularly celebrated mass when there was no permanent priest.

Clothilde Mathys, a very religious Catholic, was from a wealthy Belgian Canadian family.

Father Abraham Shmuelof was a singular figure on the landscape of the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community in Israel.

Jeanne-Marie de Montalembert was a pillar of the Haifa community from the time of her arrival in Haifa in 1960.

Father Marcel Dubois, Dominican, was a philosopher, theologian, teacher, spiritual director and custodian of souls.