MONASTERY OF NOTRE DAME DE SION (1861), EIN KEREM.

The Church of Notre Dame de Sion (Sisters of Our Lady of Zion) was established in 1861 as the 'Convent of St. John in Montana', by a Jesuit Catholic priest from France, Marie Alphonse Ratisbonne, who was born Jewish (1814) and converted to Christianity (1842). Later in the the middle of the 19th century, a congregation was founded around the convent by Theodore Ratisbonne, Alphonse's older brother and the first to convert to catholicism from the family. It was the first Congregation of 'Our Lady of Sion' made outside of France. In 1863, the convent began to function as an orphanage for girls. After 1967, the building became a guest house, and it has remained that until the present as a famous resting place for the tourists and locals alike. Today, you can spend serene and peaceful moments in the magnificent gardens of the monastery. The spectacular views of Ein Kerem also add to its attraction. Father Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne himself lived in the monastery of Ein Kerem and is buried in the convent's cemetery (1884). He also has the credit for establishing the famous Ecce Homo Convent in the Old City of Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa in 1858.