ECCE HOMO CONVENT JERUSALEM

It was in 1855 that Theodore agreed to his brother Alphonse's request to have the sisters begin a foundation in Palestine. Alphonse had in the meantime, become a priest taking the name of Father Mary Alphonse.

At that time, Jerusalem was nothing but ruins buried under debris. But in spite of the situation, the two brothers seriously envisaged a foundation in order to create a place of prayer and a few rooms to welcome the pilgrims, to help the poor, no matter what religious confession they belonged to.

"Of all the movements which lead the Christians to interest themselves in Palestine, the one that seems to me the most mysterious and most providential is the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Up to now trips for sightseers have been organized... what we need are 'genuine' pilgrimages.", Father Theodore wrote in 1856.

In May 1856, the first four sisters settled in very poor conditions in the souk. Meanwhile, Father Mary, who had foreseen the possibility of buying ruins on the Via Dolorosa, situated above the remains of a large pavement and close to the big Arch of the Ecce Homo, was travelling throughout Europe in order to gather the necessary funds.

And as soon as the place was cleared, a convent, an orphanage and a Basilica were built and the sisters began to welcome very poor children and families, Christian as well as Jew or Muslim.

 Not only was it difficult to keep the children attending the classes but they also suffered from serious health problems. This situation urged Father Marie to find a house in the country yard. In 1861, he decided to build a house in the beautiful village called Saint John in Montana (Ein Karem) where the children could enjoy nature and silence during the holydays.

When the house of Ecce Homo happened to be too small, the Sisters bought a couple of old Arabic houses that were around. That is the way they obtained progressively the buildings that you know today.

Over the years the Sisters have always adapted their apostolic presence to the needs of the time. In the early days, the Convent was an orphanage, a school and a dispensary open to Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox. The school welcomed many students coming from neighbouring countries and which was well known throughout the Middle East for its academic excellence.

Since the beginning and till today it has been a guest house for pilgrims. The first group to be welcomes was a group of about one hundred French women in 1882. The Sisters than received more and more request which urged the Sisters to transform a part of the house into a youth hostel. 

Later, the sisters decided to run courses in the language of the country, both for young people and for adults. Indeed, with the closure of the school in 1967, the sisters then felt that an ulpan would be of great benefit to both Arabs and Israelis in that this provided each group time to meet the other and have the opportunity to learn their language. These courses were immediately successful. Within two months, five classes of Hebrew and three classes of Arabic were open. Through these courses, the Sisters got really much involved into the judeo-arabic dialogue. This continued for 10 years and then the program was taken over by the University at Mt. Scopus.

It was at this time that the sisters offered a sabbatical program with the focus on the Bible its People and the Land. This two semester study program places a very important emphasis on the fact that Jesus was a Jew, that the Old Testament enlightens our understanding of the Gospels and that there is a wealth of learning for Christians when they study scripture using the Jewish sources. Needless to say such a program with weekly excursions, trips to Sinai and to Galilee is today extremely popular.

The welcome in Ecce Homo Convent is the fruit of a collaboration between the Congregation Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion and the Community of Chemin Neuf.

The Congregation of Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion invited the Chemin Neuf Community to collaborate with them in the animation, management and responsibility for two institutions in Israel: Notre Dame de Sion in Ein Karem in 2001 and Ecce Convent in Jerusalem in 2006. Chemin Neuf accepted these invitations.

After several years of collaboration, the communities see in this experience a call from God, and confirm their desire to continue what has begun. They recognize that such collaboration is a sign of the times. It is a call from the Holy Spirit, particularly in Israel where the struggle for unity and reconciliation is more urgent than ever.

The vocation of the Congregation of Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion is to witness to God’s faithful love for the Jewish People and to pray and work for the accomplishment of God’s promises for all humanity. It is marked by the centrality of the Word of God and by all that touches reconciliation.

The vocation of the Community of Chemin Neuf is to pray and work ‘so that all may be one’’: unity of the person, unity of couples and families, unity among Churches and people.

More and more we discover that these vocations are complementary, for as Christians, what unites us is our faith in Jesus Christ and our rottenness in the Chosen People.

The experience of these last seven years is an invitation to continue the journey together, fully aware of the jobs and sorrow, the blessing and the challenges that are and will be part of it. Our journey together is and will be a Paschal journey!

We hope to continue this commitment to collaboration, in respect for and love of the charism of the other. We believe that unity in diversity is possible, and that the lord will give us his Spirit to pursue this adventure in following him.

This agreement was signed up by the General Superior of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, Sister Maureen Cusick and the founder and responsible of the Chemin Neuf Community , Father Laurent Fabre by the feast of the visitation on May 31st 2008 in Ecce Homo Convent.