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20th January
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On January 20th, Sisters of Sion all over the world will be remembering the event which inspired the foundation of the congregations.
On January 20th, 1842,
Alphonse Ratisbonne, the younger brother of Theodore Ratisbonne, had a
miraculous conversion experience in the Church of St Andrea de la Fratte in
Rome. This event inspired Theodore to follow his intuition and to found the
Congregation of Our Lady of Sion.
Theodore Ratisbonne was born in
Strasbourg in 1802 into a Jewish family that was in the process of being
assimilated. He grew up in an atmosphere of learning and affection, where
religion did not, however, play a significant part. "Religion was repugnant to
me, my own and all other religions" he said. One day this prayer arose out of
his confusion: "Oh God, if you really exist, let me know the truth, and I swear
to consecrate my life to it."
The teaching of a young philosophy professor, Louis Bautain, who drew on the Scriptures in his studies, gradually set Theodore on the path of discovery of the God of the Old and New Testaments.
He was baptised at the age of 24 on Holy
Saturday, 14 April 1827 by Louise Humann. Throughout his life as a Christian,
and later as a priest, the Word of God inspired him and called him to apostolic
life, a call that was to be fulfilled only 15 years later
On 20 January 1842, his younger brother Alphonse also decided to become a Christian after Mary appeared to him in a vision in Rome. In the light of the Word of God, Theodore was able to interpret this sign from Mary and, encouraged by his brother, founded the congregation of Our Lady of Sion in 1843. In 1852, he gathered together the first small group of what was to become the men's Congregation of the Religious of Our Lady of Sion.
The Congregation was founded "to witness in the Church and in the world that God continues to be faithful in love for the Jewish people and to hasten the fulfillment of the promises concerning the Jews and the Gentiles." (Const. 2)