The Congregation of Our Lady of Sion (french: Congrégation de Notre-Dame de Sion, abbreviated by its members as N.D.S.) is composed of two

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

religious congregations A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religio ...

founded in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France. One is composed of

Catholic priests The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

and Religious Brothers, founded in 1852, and the other is composed of

Religious Sisters A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pra ...

, founded in 1843, both by Marie Theodor Ratisbonne, along with his brother

Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne image:Alphonse Ratisbonne 1865.jpg, Father Ratisbonne in 1865 Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, N.D.S., (1 May 1814, Strasbourg, Alsace, France – 6 May 1884, Ein Karem, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire) was a ...

, "''to witness in the Church and in the world that God continues to be faithful in his love for the Jewish people and to hasten the fulfillment of the promises concerning the Jews and the Gentiles.''" (Constitution, article 2).

Foundation

The Brothers

The Ratisbonne brothers, who were Jews, were drawn to accept Christianity. For Theodore, this came about through the conversion of several close friends and the slow results of study and reading. He was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

in 1826 and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1830. Alphonse, however, was more reluctant to believe in Christ. This changed dramatically on 20 January 1842 in the course of a trip to Rome, made just prior to his planned wedding. While on a visit to the Church of

Sant'Andrea delle Fratte Sant'Andrea delle Fratte ("Saint Andrew of the Thickets") is a 17th-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to St. Andrew. The Cardinal Priest of the ''Titulus S. Andreae Apostoli de Hortis'' is Ennio Antonelli. History The current chu ...

, the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

appeared to him. Both brothers believed that this was a sign from God, not only for Alphonse's personal conversion, but of their common call to bring their fellow Jews to accept the Christian faith. To this end, Alphonse was

and soon entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, where he spent several years. In 1843 Theodore founded a small community of women who wished to collaborate with him in the education of Jewish children, starting with two Jewish sisters who had come to him for guidance and later converted to Christianity. In 1850, with the permission of the pope and of the Jesuit

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

, Alphonse left the Society to join his brother and his work. Together the Ratisbonne brothers established the Congregation of the Fathers of Our Lady of Sion in 1852. In 1855 Alphonse moved to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

, where, in 1858, he established the Convent of the ''Ecce homo'' on the site of a ruined church of that name on the famed

Via Dolorosa The ''Via Dolorosa'' (Latin, 'Sorrowful Way', often translated 'Way of Suffering'; ar, طريق الآلام; Hebrew: ויה דולורוזה) is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem. It represents the path that Jesus would have t ...

for the Sisters of the congregation. On the grounds of the convent, Ratisbonne built an orphanage and vocational school which the Sisters ran. These institutions were open to all the children of the city, regardless of creed. A

motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute. It would normally be where the residence and offices of the religious superior In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at ...

was established in Paris for the Fathers. In 1874, Alphonse began the construction of the

Ratisbonne Monastery Ratisbonne Monastery ( ar, دير راتسبون, he, מנזר רטיסבון) is a monastery in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem, Israel, established by Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, a French convert from Judaism. Work on the building, desig ...

, on a site then on the outskirts of Jerusalem, which was a school for boys. It now houses a branch of the

Salesian Pontifical University The Salesian Pontifical University (; ) is a pontifical university in Italy run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It has three campuses, one in Rome, one in Turin, and one in Jerusalem. The Salesian Pontifical University is an ordinary member of th ...

. After the re-direction of the official teachings regarding

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

, the Fathers changed from an emphasis on the conversion of Jews to working to foster understanding and the development of deeper ties between Christians and Jews. Today they have communities in France, Israel and Brazil.

The Sisters

For many years most of the Sisters were teachers in Sion schools in France and the Holy Land. They later expanded overseas to the British Isles and Australia. The sisters of Sion define themselves as “woman who help to heal a fractured world”. The Sisters were invited to England by Cardinal Manning to help with the expansion of Catholic education in the country. They arrived in 1860 and have had a presence in England ever since. They then established a presence in Australia with the first Sisters arriving in 1890. Since the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

the work of the Sisters has expanded and developed. Now there is a wide variety of ministries. The congregation now has Sisters in 22 countries worldwide, with their General

Motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute. It would normally be where the residence and offices of the religious superior In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at ...

located in Rome. Like the Fathers, the Sisters no longer emphasise conversion, but instead describe themselves as working to improve Catholic-Jewish relations and to witness to God's faithful love for the Jewish people. One of its best-known members of the Congregation was

Sœur Emmanuelle Sœur (Sister) Emmanuelle, N.D.S. (16 November 1908 – 20 October 2008) was a Religious Sister of both Belgian and French origins, noted for her involvement in working for the plight of the poor in Turkey and Egypt. She was honoured with Eg ...

, N.D.S., (1908-2008) who worked in Istanbul and Cairo.

Schools

* Our Lady of Sion College,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia *Catholic College, Sale,

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

*Ecole bilingue Notre-Dame de Sion,

Montreal, Canada Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

Our Lady of Sion School Our Lady of Sion School is an inter-denominational, independent school for male and female students, founded in 1862 and located in Worthing, West Sussex, on the south coast of England. Based on the teachings of Theodor Ratisbonne and Alphonse ...

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

, England *

Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul ( tr, Notre Dame de Sion Özel Fransız Lisesi) is a French private high school located in the Harbiye, Şişli neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded in 1856. The high school was established in the O ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey *

Notre Dame de Sion School, Kansas City Notre Dame de Sion School () is a preschool through grade 12 certified college preparatory school located in Kansas City, Missouri. This Roman Catholic school was founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion in 1912. The all-girls high school ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, USA *Colegio Nuestra Señora de Sion, Moravia, Costa Rica *Colegio Notre Dame de Sion, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil * Colégio Nossa Senhora de Sion, Curitiba, Brasil *Notre Dame de Sion School, Alexandria, Egypt * St. Maurice School,

Winnipeg, Canada Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

References

External links