News

Sion Centre UK – November | December Programme
The Sion Centre for Dialogue and Encounter in London (UK) welcomes participants to a new series of online sessions. All courses are in English, and the times indicated are local to the UK. For further information, please visit the SCDE website or write to...

CBF, Jerusalem | Spring/Summer 2024 programs
Registration is open for three courses at the Center for Biblical Formation (CBF) in Jerusalem. The courses combine classroom study with field-based learning and excursions. Accommodation and full board are provided at the Ecce Homo convent in the Old City of...

Sion Centre UK – October Programmes
The Sion Centre for Dialogue and Encounter in London (UK) welcomes participants to a new season of online sessions. Themes of biblical and theological formation will be addressed, with some nuances and creative ways to look at the texts. All courses are in English,...

Weekly Parasha commentary
8 August Sr Rita Kammermayer, NDS, has written a commentary on this week’s Parasha Readings, on the theme: “You shall rejoice in your Festivals!” If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian...

CERJUC, San José – August 2023 programme
Registration is open for the upcoming season of courses at Sion-CERJUC (Centro de estudios bíblicos y relaciones judeocristianas). The weekly sessions will be in Spanish. For more information or to attend via Zoom, please contact CERJUC:...

Sunday Readings Commentary
26 July Sr Diane Willey, NDS, has written a commentary on this Sunday’s liturgy, on the theme: The Quest for Greater Value If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian Centre for Jewish...

Sion at the ICCJ conference
This June, a delegation of eleven members of the Family of Sion had the joy of representing the Congregation at the annual conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Under the theme: “Negotiating Multiple...

Weekly Parasha commentary
18 July Sr Diane Willey, NDS, has written a commentary on this week’s Parasha Readings, on the theme: “As a Man carries his Son” If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian Centre for Jewish...

Sion’s 95 years in Box Hill, Australia
This month, Our Lady of Sion College in Box Hill, Australia, celebrates its 95th birthday. School Prinicpal Tina Apostolopoulos shares some early history in the school’s latest newsletter: “The College began with six sisters of Our Lady of Sion and 15 students....

Weekly Parasha commentary
20 June Sr Diane Willey, NDS, has written a commentary on this week’s Parasha Readings, on the theme: “From Defilement To Purification” If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian...

Two sisters become Members of the Order of Canada
Sion sisters, Rossbrook House staff, family and friends joined Sr. Bernadette O’Reilly and Sr. Margaret Hughes, NDS, as they were inducted into the Order of Canada on 6 June, in appreciation of the forty years of life they dedicated to the children and youth of inner...

Sunday Readings Commentary
30 May Sr Margaret Shepherd, NDS, has written a commentary on this Sunday’s liturgy, on the theme: God so loved the world If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian Centre for Jewish...

Weekly Parasha commentary
30 May Sr Rita Kammermayer, NDS, has written a commentary on this week’s Parasha Readings, on the theme: “A Light to the Nations” If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian Centre for...

Social media in the religious sphere
As Sister Arlyne Del Valle Casas scrolled through the of USIG-Social Communication Facebook page, an advertisement for a course on Social Media and Evangelization caught her eye, and she signed up. Sr. Arlyne shares her experience in a Q&A about the course so far,...

Sunday Readings Commentary
16 May Sr Rita Kammermayer, NDS, has written a commentary on this Sunday’s liturgy, on the theme: We have come to know and have believed! If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian Centre...

International Sion Student Meeting – Kansas City, USA
A Sion perspective on the environment was at the heart of the 3rd international Sion student meeting, named “Laudato Sion: Spaces of Dialogue with the Global Community and Creation”. Running from 17 to 22 April, it coincided with this year’s Earth Week and concluded,...

From Galilee to Jerusalem, Mark’s Gospel and the Kingdom of God – Next Course at CBF, Ecce Homo, Jerusalem, January 2024
A new course is being planned in Jerusalem, at the Center for Biblical Formation (CBF), in collaboration with CERJUC (Centro de estudio y relaciones Judeo-Cristianas, Costa Rica), from 11th to 26th January 2024. The title is “From Galilee to Jerusalem: The Gospel of...

Sunday readings commentary
14 May Sr Diane Willey, NDS, has written a commentary on this Sunday’s liturgy, on the theme: How Awesome Are Your Deeds If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian Centre for Jewish...

“The Last Days of Jesus in Jerusalem” – Course at CBF, Ecce Homo, Jerusalem – January 2023
Last January, a course titled "The Last Days of Jesus in Jerusalem" was held at Ecce Homo in Jerusalem, marking the return face-to-face classes to at the Sion Centre for Biblical Formation (CBF) and a relaunch of the CBF’s biblical formation programme in Spanish in...

NDS sisters join with workers in the Philippines
On 1 May, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, sisters of Our Lady of Sion in the Philippines united with peaceful Labour Day protesters. We continue to pray for the workers and support their call for a just wage.

Lithostrotos & Ecce Homo Basilica in the Old City of Jerusalem
The Lithostrotos is an ancient paved section of the Roman Forum lying below the Ecce Homo convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion in the Old City of Jerusalem. Discovered in 1857 during the building of the school by Father Alphonse Ratisbonne, it is considered to...

Sunday readings commentary
18 April Sr Diane Willey, NDS, has written a commentary on this Sunday's liturgy, on the theme: In the Breaking of the Bread If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian Centre for...

SCDE (London) – April to June 2023 programme
The Sion Centre for Dialogue and Encounter in London (UK) welcomes participants to a new season of online and in-person sessions. Audio recordings of the online sessions are uploaded on the website at this link, usually a week after each event. In-house, the SCDE...

Passover-Easter at the CBF in Jerusalem
The Passover Easter program in Jerusalem included participants from many countries and continents. The students were guided by highly qualified professors who focused on themes in the Biblical texts of Exodus, Isaiah, and the Gospel of John, which were...

Easter: passage and renewal
The feast of Easter is a moment of passage and renewal on the continuous journey of life. It reminds us of God's passage through human history that enables us to move forward every day. The stone in front of the tomb has been set aside. Jesus has risen and invites us...

Bat Kol Institute – 40th anniversary
People from all over the world joined together online on 27 March to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of Bat Kol Institute. Bat Kol teachers, Alumni and friends shared testimonials and tributes to Sr. Maureena Fritz, NDS, whose brainchild Bat Kol was....

Lumières du Shabbat – Shabbat de lumière by Sr Anne-Catherine Avril
From the book's back cover: An exceptional introduction to Judaism from its key point, its point of completion: the Shabbat. Contrary to popular belief, the Shabbat, a human and divine reality, can neither be reduced to nor compared with the Lord's Day, Sunday. It is...

Sunday readings commentary
19 March Sr Margaret Shepherd, NDS, has written a commentary on this Sunday's liturgy, on the theme: Light over darkness If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat Kol-Christian Centre for Jewish...

A 2nd year of online biblical courses in Brazil
ConSagraE – Conheça a Sagrada Escritura has just launched a second year of biblical courses in Portuguese. Like last year, the 2023 programme, which started on 6 March, offers paths to deeper insight about texts in both Testaments of the Bible. The programme...

CERJUC, San José – 1st semester 2023 programme
For the first semester this year, CERJUC (Centro de estudios bíblicos y relaciones judeocristianas) offers a series of weekly courses in Spanish on biblical themes. To attend via Zoom, please contact CERJUC: cerjucsion@ice.co.cr (+506) 89241103 ...

A young sister professes final vows in Egypt
The 20 January, our feast day, is always special for the sisters of Our Lady of Sion. This year there was a second reason to celebrate, as sister Victoria Nabil pronounced her final vows in the village of Berba in rural Upper Egypt. It was a lively and joyful...

CBF, Jerusalem – 2023 courses
Registration is open for three courses at the Center for Biblical Formation (CBF) in Jerusalem. The courses combine classroom study with field-based learning and excursions. Accommodation and full board are provided at the Ecce Homo convent in the Old City of...

Deepening Christian and Jewish-Christian harmony in Iași, Romania
On 21 January in the Diocese of Iași, Romania, Sunday of the Word of God was celebrated by a Biblical Symposium with an ecumenical and Jewish-Christian slant. It was the second annual edition of the event, organised by the Diocese of Iași’s...

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2023
Today, 27 January, we observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year, we are invited to place the people who were the millions of victims of Nazism at the centre of our attention: people leading normal lives until they were violently stripped...

20 January – Feast Day of Notre Dame de Sion
" The Mighty One has done great things for me - Holy is His Name." (Lk 1, 49) Every year, on the 20th of January, we particularly remember our founder's brother Alphonse Ratisbonne's entry into the mysteries of faith. His encounter...

SCDE (London) January to February 2023 programme
The SCDE in London (UK) invites you to a rich programme of talks in January and February. All sessions will be conducted via Zoom, in English. For further details, please visit the SCDE website. To receive a Zoom link, please write to sioncentrefordialogue@gmail.com....

“A little Child is born to us!”
Reading these words from Isaiah 9,6 and reflecting on the birth of Jesus Christ, our founder Théodore Ratisbonne asked himself: “Why does He appear under the traits of childhood?” And the answer he found was: “So that we may love Him and not fear Him!”...

UNANIMA International September newsletter
The Sisters of Our Lady of Sion are coalition partners of UNANIMA International, a non-governmental organization that advocates at the United Nations on behalf of women and children, homeless and displaced, migrants and refugees, and the environment. The latest issue...

Weekly Parasha commentary
30 September Sr Rita Kammermayer, NDS, has written a commentary on this week’s Parasha Readings, on the theme: “God will not fail you or forsake you” If you would like to read the commentary, it is available on the website of the ISPS-Ratisbonne Bat...

Children in Brazil build memories for life
In commemoration of the 80-year anniversary of the São Teodoro de Nossa Senhora de Sion school in Vila Maria (São Paulo, Brazil), pupils exhibited their school’s heritage in text, pictures, documentaries and theatrical performances for their families and the whole...

General Chapter 2022
It was with joy in their hearts that Sion sisters returned from Rome to their communities all over the world after their General Chapter: a month of prayer, discernment and celebration, whose aim was to outline a roadmap to orientate congregational life and...

General Chapter 2022
The theme of “Opening doors” offers a prompt for sisters and lay associates of the Family of Sion as they enlarge the space of their tents for the 2022 General Chapter. They have travelled to Rome from other parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and North, Central and South...

Sisters to be awarded for making a difference in Canada
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion are honoured to announce that Sr. Bernadette O’Reilly and Sr. Margaret Hughes have been nominated to become Members of the Order of Canada for their work and ministry with Indigenous Peoples in Winnipeg. For over 40 years the...

Remembering the “Righteous” of Notre Dame de Sion in Evry Grand Bourg, France
On 7 June, the Notre-Dame de Sion Evry Grand Bourg school honoured the memory of one Religious and seven Sisters of Our Lady of Sion who were involved in saving Jews during the Second World War. “Righteous Among the Nations” is a title granted by the Yad Vashem...

Sister Arlyne makes her final commitment
The Feast of Pentecost, which fell this year on 5 June, was a notable day for the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion as they witnessed one of their sisters committing herself forever to God. Sr. Arlyne Del Valle Casas pronounced her final vows at the Institute of...

Collège NDS Grenoble, France: yesterday, today and tomorrow
Two Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion joined staff, pupils, parents and external guests at the Collège Notre Dame de Sion Grenoble, to commemorate the day the school’s first stone was laid 80 years ago. The two-day programme was created by the school in a spirit of...

Earth Day – 22 April 2022
The global ecological crisis we find ourselves in today urgently demands a new way of seeing, thinking and acting. God’s creation is there not purely to serve our needs. We humans are an integral part of nature and the ecosystems we live in. It is a mindset of...

Easter 2022
Through the sufferings of our world and the trials of these times, God is present. He is alive, He is with us through it all. We can say with Isaiah: Here is the God who saves me: I have confidence, I have no more fear. My strength and my song is the...

Delving into the charism in France
Heads, teachers and staff from the six French institutions in the International Sion School Network gathered at the NDS Evry Collège/Lycée from the 28 to the 30 March, to discover the history and charism of the Congregation. Usually an annual occasion, this...

ConSagraE – a new online biblical formation programme in Brazil
Three Sister of Our Lady of Sion have invited other scholars to join them in presenting a new online biblical formation programme in Brazil. ConSagraE – Conheça a Sagrada Escritura aims to offer biblical foundations to people who wish to deepen their knowledge and...

Prayers and action for peace in Ukraine
The Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Sion is united with all in prayers and actions for peace in Ukraine. We echo Pope Francis’s words: “Put down your weapons!” and “Let us not stop talking; indeed, let us pray to God more intensely”. And we join him in his...

Consecrated life, light in the world
Sion sisters Collette O'Donnell and Victoria Nabil were interviewed by the Christian Media Center in Jerusalem for their video "Consecrated life, light in the world". The video was made to celebrate for the World Day of Consecrated Life on 2 February. The date marks...

International Holocaust Remembrance Day
This 27 January, anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, we commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Our prayer, this year, is inspired by the theme designated by the United Nations: “Memory, Dignity and Justice”....

A focus on faith and interfaith in Poland
Sr Ania Bodzińska, NDS, will pray with Jewish and Christian leaders in Krakow on 17 January. The event is part of a rich programme to mark the 25th Day of Judaism in the Catholic Church in Poland. Between 10 and 20 January talks, readings and interreligious prayer...

Christmas 2021
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; and upon those who live in a land of deep darkness – a light has shone." (Isaiah 9:2) In this time of growing intolerance, suffering and fear, In this time, in every place and within each human...

Cerjuc Bible Month recordings
Click on the session titles to watch the recordings of Sion Cerjuc's Bible Month programme (in Spanish): THE REIGN OF GOD: CENTRAL MESSAGE OF JESUS Dr. Juan Alberto Casas, Javeriana University of Colombia ABJECT BODIES: A STUDY OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK...

Webinar: difficult texts in Matthew
Thursday 21 October 4:30pm – 6:00pm (Melbourne time) The Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion in Australia are hosting a webinar in English on the theme: Difficult texts regarding “The Jews” in Matthew's Gospel: A socio-political framework. [button...

Online biblical animation, Brazil
To celebrate the 50th year of Bible Month in Brazil, the Archdiocese of Aracaju is holding a series of talks on the topic: Study of the Letter to the Galatians Sisters Cristiane Dos Santos, NDS, and Ivete Holthmam, NDS, will lead sessions on September 4...

Interfaith webinar – September 13, Philippines
In this 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines, the Sisters of Sion are holding a webinar on an interfaith theme. Monday September 13 4:00 - 6:00 pm (Philippine time) "Gifted to give" In the spirit of Indigenous, Jewish, Christian and...

Sharing the rice across continents
In these difficult and challenging times, here is an account of a recent happening: a small gesture whose substance could so easily pass unnoticed. What happened was that a small stipend for a Bibliodrama workshop, led by Peta Pellach and Yael Unterman in Jerusalem,...

Canada’s sad history revealed
In Canada the month of June has been full of heartbreaking news. The discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children and 751 Indigenous children in two unmarked grave sites at two former Indian Residential Schools has revealed to Canadians a tragic and sad piece...

Philippines Sion sisters get involved in Community Pantries
The MSK (Basic Christian Community) in Barangay Kiloloron, Real, Philippines, has begun holding a weekly Community Pantry: a service that provides food directly to local people suffering from food insecurity. Pantries like this are popping up all over the Philippines...

Interview on the importance of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue
Sr Cristiane Dos Santos, NDS, has been interviewed by Hora News, a Brazilian digital newspaper, on the subject: The importance of ecumenism for Christianity and its relationship in a divided society [button...

Mount Meron condolences
The Sisters of Our Lady of Sion grieve the loss of life at Mount Meron during the celebration of Lag B'Omer. Our thoughts and prayers go to the injured and the families of those who died. We pray for them, and for all victims of tragedies, disasters and illness around...

Happy Easter!
We pray that the power of the risen Lord makes us bearers of a "contagion of hope" (Pope Francis)

Bibliodrama: discovering a God of surprises
Sister Anne-Marie Brittain has been teaching bibliodrama in the Philippines for several years and is one of the newer members of the national network. She sees it as a way of making the Word of God active in people’s lives. What is bibliodrama? In bibliodrama,...

International Holocaust Memorial Day
This week we observe International Holocaust Memorial Day. A day that makes us pause and remember. We commemorate the millions of victims of Nazi Germany’s genocidal policies especially against the Jewish people at the time and during World War II. The International...

Winds of Change
Sister Marianne Dacy traces the Congregation’s role in Jewish-Christian relations in Australia over the past 60 years in her 32-page book: Winds of change – the contribution of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion to Jewish/Christian relations in Australia: 1960s – 2020+....

2020 Eternal Light Award: towards new horizons
In a moving virtual ceremony, Sr Celia Deutsch was honoured as recipient of the Eternal Light award bestowed annually by the Centre for Catholic Jewish Studies (CCJS) of the St Leo University in Florida (USA), in recognition of her work in Jewish-Christian...

Kids4Peace webinar
Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto (CJDT) presents “Laying Foundations for Peace in the Holy Land: Young Voices from Jerusalem”. Sunday, 6 December, 12:30 - 1:30 pm (Toronto time) Israeli and Palestinian teenagers will share with us about their involvement in...

Watch “Abrahamic communities respond to racism during COVID 19: the injustice within”
An exploration of systemic racism through a multi-faith lens The Speakers are members of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities of Toronto: Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo Akilah Allen-Silverstein Imam Yasin Dwyer [button...

Watch “Abrahamic faiths in dialogue: building harmony in today’s challenging context”
A celebration of the spirituality of communion, new evangelisation, and a call to human solidarity. Speakers: Dr. Deborah Weissman The first Jewish woman President of the International Council of Christians and Jews and a highly respected spokesperson...

The Sisters of Our Lady of Sion and Nostra Aetate: An Old Story and its New Horizons
ONLINE EVENT - SUNDAY, NOV. 8th, 2 - 4 pm On Sunday, November 8th, from 2pm - 4pm, Saint Leo University's Centre for Catholic Jewish Studies (CCJS - Florida, USA) presents a special livestreamed panel of scholars, entitled The Sisters of Our Lady of Sion and Nostra...

Online event: Abrahamic communities respond to racism during COVID 19: the injustice within
22 October, 7 pm (Toronto time) In partnership with the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion and Fraser Centre for Practical Theology (Regis College), the Christian Jewish Dialogue of Toronto (CJDT) presents an online event that explores systemic racism through a...

Webinar: Abrahamic faiths in dialogue
Abrahamic faiths in dialogue – building harmony in today’s challenging context October 21, 2 – 4 pm (Philippines time) Speakers: Dr. Deborah Weissman The first Jewish woman President of the International Council of Christians and Jews and a highly...

Jewish-Christian dialogue in a time of pandemic
Members of the ICCJ (International Council of Christians and Jews) Theology Committee have shared their personal reflections on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the ICCJ website. It’s a heartfelt, serious online dialogue that looks at both the present and the...

Rescheduled webinar

Get to know the Sion Philippines community
The story of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion in the Philippines is brought together in a comic that celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Congregation there. The comic reaches out to young people in the Philippines and neighbouring countries, and tells of how the NDS...

30th anniversary of the Sisters in the Philippines
In this video, Sister Oonah O'Shea speaks about how the Sisters of Sion came to be in the Philippines, and how the community has developed there over the past thirty years. https://youtu.be/YT9K46NiXQM

Webinar: How Jews have been portrayed in Christian art
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion will host a webinar in Australia led by art historian Dr. Claire Renkin to explore how Jews have been depicted in Christian art over the centuries. The talk will be in English and will start at 4.30 pm, Melbourne time, on Tuesday 8...

Webinar: Jewish-Christian dialogue in Canada
“The Future of Dialogue Beyond the Screen” is the theme of an online conversation (in English language) involving Sion Sister Lucy Thorson, Chair of the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto, on Sunday August 2 at 7.00 pm (Toronto time). The webinar, also featuring...

Workshops online at the London Sion Centre
The Sion Centre for Dialogue and Encounter in London is opening the virtual doors to its workshops, via Zoom videoconferencing. The pilot programme will be led by: Rabbi Dr Michael Hilton, Rabbi Emeritus of Kol Chai, Scholar in Residence of the Liberal Jewish...

Sr. Celia Deutsch to receive CCJS Eternal Light Award
Sister Celia Deutsch has been selected as recipient of the next Eternal Light Award by the Advisory Board of Saint Leo University’s Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies (CCJS) in Florida, USA. The award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding...

Solidarity amid coronavirus lockdown in the Philippines
The Sisters of Our Lady of Sion are giving aid to those most in need in the communities we serve in the Philippines, to help them get through lockdown during the coronavirus crisis. Some donations have gone towards assisting people in rural neighbourhoods, such as...

Happy and Blessed Easter!
May the power of the self-giving love and new life we celebrate this Eastertime, fill our hearts with strength and openness to live our time with courage and generosity. Happy and Blessed Easter!

32nd Conference of the Australian Association for Jewish Studies
Notre Dame de Sion Sister Marianne Dacy took part in a panel at the recent 32nd Conference of the Australian Association for Jewish Studies (AAJS) attended by about 150 people at the the Sydney Jewish Museum. The theme of the conference was “Imagining Jews: Jewish...

12th International Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Podkarpackie Province, Poland
Thanks to the efforts of Prof. Waclaw Wierzbieniec and the Jewish History and Culture Department of University of Rzeszów’s Institute of History, and with the support of local authorities and institutions, over 30 towns of Poland’s Podkarpackie Province honoured the...

Holocaust Remembrance Week
In recognition of last week's International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we, the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, reaffirm our solidarity with all victims of persecution and discrimination. At this time, as we remember the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz...

Notre Dame de Sion’s feast day message
Every January 20th, since 1842, we remember and give thanks for the extraordinary and life-changing experience of grace, mercy and love granted to Alphonse Ratisbonne through Mary at a side altar of the church of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte. Alphonse’s experience with...

A voice for indigenous people in the Philippines
The ANAWIM MISSION, participated by the Sion Philippines community, is hosting a day-long conversation with indigenous people in the run-up to the year of Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue and Indigenous Peoples declared for 2020 by the Catholic...

Poland: course on Judaism and the Hebrew language
A three-part course (in Polish) entitled "The basics of Judaism and Hebrew" will be held between November and January at the Krakow house of the Sisters of Sion to explore the roots of Christianity. The three sessions will take place on the second last Thursday of...

6th national meeting of Polish “Service in Sion” participants
The annual gathering of Polish people who have taken part in the Service in Sion programme will be held on Saturday November 23, 2019 at 5.00 pm in Krakow. This year, Klaudia, Aga, Ola, Kinga and Marta will tell of their experiences in Ein Kerem, Israel, and Paris,...

Talitha Kum General Assembly
From 21 to 27 September, 86 delegates representing 48 countries met at the UISG Headquarters to discuss the future of Talitha Kum, an international network of consecrated life against human trafficking. During the week, they presented the work done by the women...

The Amazon Synod: 6 to 27 October
The Sisters of Sion are following with great interest the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region called by Pope Francis between 6 and 27 October 2019. The theme of the assembly is: new paths for the Church and for an integral ecology. It’s...

Celebration of final vows in the Philippines
Sister Beth Burgo pronounced her perpetual vows on Thursday 12 September at St. Raphael Parish in the Municipality of Real, Philippines, reaffirming her commitment to the Church in the presence of her family, other Sion Sisters, and members of Saint Raphael’s Parish....

Children have rights
An initiative supported by the NDS Congregation to celebrate the rights of the child. November 20, 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. For the occasion, the association L’enfant et la Shoah – Yad Layeled France,...

Itinerant Ministry in Africa
Two Sisters are heading off to Harare, Zimbabwe, in the coming months, as a part of Sion’s Itinerant Ministry to teach Seminarians and other Religious men and women in countries where there is no Sion presence. Sister Celia Deutsch, a research scholar at Barnard...

30-year anniversary for CERJUC biblical study and Jewish-Christian relations centre in Costa Rica
This year the Centre for Biblical Studies and Jewish-Christian Relations (Centro de Estudios Bíblicos y Relaciones Judeocristianas – CERJUC) in Moravia, Costa Rica, sponsored and co-ordinated by the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, celebrates 30 years of pastoral work. To...

Environmental spirituality course in Bath, UK
“The Earth is the Lord’s: Environmental Spirituality in Judaism and Christianity” is the title of a course to be led by Sion Sister Margaret Shepherd and Orthodox Jewish scholar Jonathan Gorsky at the Ammerdown Centre near Bath, UK, between 19 and 21 August. The...

The 2019 ICCJ Conference: an arena for challenges and opportunities
A delegation of sixteen Family of Sion members, including nine sisters, represented the Sion congregation at the annual conference of the ICCJ (International Council of Christians and Jews), in Lund, Sweden, whose theme was: “Transformations within and between: How...

Interculturality, growth and hope in Kenya
From 13-26 June, two Sion sisters took their itinerant mission to Nairobi, Kenya, with the aim of helping seminarians of the Franciscan Missionaries of Hope deepen their appreciation of the Jewish people and their knowledge of the Scriptures. It turned out to be an...

Unity of the Trinity Workshop
“An interesting and challenging read that provides insights into our experience of Trinity that allow us to develop our understanding.” This is how Sr Therese Fitzgerald describes the book entitled The Unity of the Trinity: Listening to the Tradition of Israel by Br....

Bible teaching in the Amazonas
The Pauline Letters were the theme of the Sisters of Sion’s itinerant training program held in June for seminarians and lay people at ITEPES (Instituto de Teologia, Pastoral e Ensino Superior da Amazônia) in Manaus, capital city of the state of Amazonas in the North...

A new church in Berba, Egypt
After five years of collaborative effort and patience, a new church has finally opened its doors in the village of Berba in rural Upper Egypt, where the Congregation of the Sisters of Sion have been present for 25 years. Sister Jackie Chenard, who lives in Berba, was...

Vocations gathering in Kansas City, USA
This April, three members of the Sisters of Sion Canada/US Vocations Team took part in a five-day initiative organized in collaboration with Notre Dame de Sion School in Kansas City. The purpose was to reflect on the charism of Sion and the theme of vocation: the many...

Reappraising the Pharisees
The May 7-9 conference at the Gregorian University, entitled “Jesus and the Pharisees: an interdisciplinary reappraisal,” aimed to challenge negative stereotypes that have built up over the centuries about the Pharisees, inviting Christians to take a more appreciative...

Education for Action: the urgency of interreligious leadership for global good
The power of interfaith leadership in bringing about positive change in global challenges was the focus of the panel Sister Lucy Thorson from Canada took part in at the international Education for Action conference in Rome. The event, attended by over 150 people,...

Dialogue and justice: it’s the relationship that matters
On 29 April Sister Therese Fitzgerald, Irish Sion member, gave a talk on how right relationships lie at the core of both dialogue and justice, at the annual conference of SEDOS (Service of Documentation and Studies on Global Mission) in Ariccia, Italy. The five-day...

A heartfelt goodbye and a move to new horizons in justice and reconciliation in Canada
After four decades of opening their hearts and home to neighbours in Winnipeg, Canada, Sister Bernadette O’Reilly and Sister Margaret Hughes made a 800-kilometre journey at the end of April, to join the Saskatoon community of the Sion Congregation. For 40 years the...

We are Sion – International Youth Meeting in Costa Rica
Twelve to eighteen-year-old Sion students from four continents gathered between the 6 and the 14 of April in Costa Rica to reflect together on the charism of Sion and the different realities of Sion youth across the globe. The aim was to create bonds and fraternity...

An encounter with wisdom
Sister Jean Quinn’s first meeting with homeless Jennifer happened outside a cinema in Dublin and marked the beginning of a long and meaningful friendship. At the following link to the Global Sisters Report website we share Sister Jean’s moving story: My encounter with...

Holocaust Remembrance Days in Poland (27.01-3.02 2019)
The last week of January, I spent in Poland in Podkarpacie Region (formerly Galicia and where I come from), where from the 27 of January, until 3 of February in 70 villages and towns various meetings and events took place to mark the Holocaust Memorial Day in Poland....

News from CCJR Annual Meeting
The Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJR) is “an association of centers and institutes in the United States and Canada devoted to enhancing mutual understanding between Jews and Christians” (https://www.ccjr.us/). Celia Deutsch (Brooklyn, N.Y.,...

Milestones in Modern Jewish-Christian Relations
Compiled by Sr. Lucy Thorson, NDS and Murray Watson With its 1965 declaration Nostra Aetate (On the Church’s Relationship to Non-Christian Religions), the Catholic Church inaugurated a historic and wide-ranging transformation in its thinking about, and relating to,...

The International Jewish – Christian Bible Week, Germany
I had heard from Srs. Clare, Margaret and Kathy, NDS about the International Jewish Christian Bible Week for a number of years and they had given me the impression that it was a programme that marks memory for a long time. Finally, this year, I was able to take part...

News from Sr. Patricia Fox, NDS (Philippines)
Statement from sr. Pat NDS from the Philippines concerning the Bureau of Immigration's Deportation Order against her: 'After attending a Fact-Finding Mission and telling some Coca Cola workers that the social teachings of the church support them in their formation of...

Final commitment ceremony of Sr. Wafaa, NDS
Sr. Wafaa Shehata NDS grew up in the village of El Berba in the diocese of Minya in Upper Egypt. During the time when Sr. Juliana and Sr. Darlene lived in Berba, she was the first young women finding her way to the congregation of “Notre Dame de Sion”. After her...

Srs. Clara and Alejandra Accompanying Sion School Class from Kansas City In Guatemala
We would like to take a moment to reflect on our trip in March to San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango, to be with the delegation of Sion students from Kansas City. We feel truly grateful for the opportunity to have this experience. We feel that it has been a blessing to...

General House – Rome: The Congregation has been awarded the Cardinal Bea Interfaith Award
This morning, February 7th, the Congregational Leadership Team, Adriana (Costa Rica), Marie Lise (France and other European Countries), Clare (UK) and Mary (Canada-US) met delegates from the Anti-Defamation League (United States) to speak about the work of the...

SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF SION AND THE WRITING OF NOSTRA AETATE
Scholars have recently examined the work of several groups engaged in the intellectual projects that provided the foundation of Nostra Aetate and, in some cases participated in the writing process. The Sisters of Our Lady of Sion are one of these groups. They are an...