Deir Rafat ( ar, دير رفات, he, דיר ראפאת), also known as the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Palestine and of the Holy Land, is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

monastery in central

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Located to the north-west of

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city wa ...

, between

Givat Shemesh Givat Shemesh ( he, גִּבְעַת שֶׁמֶשׁ, ''lit.'' Sun Hill) is a village and drug rehabilitation centre in central Israel. Located near Beit Shemesh above kibbutz Tzora and run by the Retorno organisation, it falls under the jurisdicti ...

and kibbutz

Tzora Tzora ( he, צָרְעָה) is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located about 20 km from Jerusalem, near the city of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymology The kibbu ...

to the south and

Kfar Uria Kfar Uria ( he, כְּפַר אוּרִיָּה, ) is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Beit Shemesh in the Shephelah. It falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was fi ...

to the north, it falls under the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Mateh Yehuda Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה יהודה, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Yehuda'', ar, مجلس إقليمي ماتيه يهودا ) is a regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2008 it was home to 3 ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The monastery was established in 1927 by the Latin Patriarch Luigi Barlassina and contained a boarding school, an orphanage and convent. Currently the convent is running a guest house and a retreat center for believers and Holy Land pilgrims. The façade of the convent church bears the Latin inscription "Reginæ Palæstinæ", lit. "to the Queen of Palestine", and carries a 6-metre statue of the

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 Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. The church ceiling is decorated with a painting showing angels carrying banners with the first words of the

Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

prayer in 280 languages.Monastère Notre-Dame de Palestine: Deir Rafat
Monastic Family of BethlehemThe Shrine of Our Lady "Queen of Palestine" and the Holy Land at Rafat
LPJ Since 2009, the convent is in the care of the female branch of the Catholic order known as "the

Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno The Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno – or simply known as Monastic Brothers of Bethlehem and Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem – is a Roman Catholic institute of consecrated life that practices the ...

", called the monastic Sisters of Bethlehem. File:Deir Rafat doors.jpg, Wooden doors with "Ave Maria" carving in different languages File:PC160010.JPG, Church interior File:DeirRafatNov172021 01.jpg, Deir Rafat File:DeirRafatNov172021 02.jpg, Deir Rafat compound

References

Bibliography

* * (pp
154
5) * * * (p
20

External links

*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17
IAA

Wikimedia commons Wikimedia Commons (or simply Commons) is a media repository of free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used across all of the Wikimedia projects in ...

{{Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Roman Catholic monasteries in Israel Catholicism in Israel Populated places established in 1927 20th-century Christian monasteries Populated places in Jerusalem District Buildings and structures in Jerusalem District 1927 establishments in Mandatory Palestine