Marie Theodor Ratisbonne

Marie-Théodore Ratisbonne, N.D.S., (December 28, 1802 – January 10, 1884) was a French Jewish convert to the Catholic Church, who became a priest and missionary and who later founded the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion. He was the brother of Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, who joined him in this effort.

Life

Early life Théodore Ratisbonne was one of the 13 children born in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, to Auguste Ratisbonne and his wife, Adélaïde Cerfbeer, who were members of a noted Jewish banking family. His father additionally served as president of the Provincial Council of Alsace.

Conversion At the age of 22, Ratisbonne gained the acquaintance of a local Catholic, Louise Humann, who was a catechist and active in works of charity. After the conversion of his friends, Emile Dreyfus, Alfred Mayer and Samson Liebermann to Christianity, Théodore spent two years under her guidance studying the Scriptures, both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, which eventually led him to embrace Christianity. He was baptized in 1826, at which time he added the name Marie (Mary) to his given name, and was ordained as a priest in 1830.

This step by Théodore caused his family to reject him.

Through his embrace of Christianity, Théodore Ratisbonne joined a wave of conversions then taking place in the French Jewish community, triggered by a sense that the Jews could not achieve full integration in French society as long as they remained Jews. He had reached the conclusion that there was a fundamental incompatibility between Judaism and French citizenship. Until his conversion, he was active in the Societe d'Encouragement au Travail en Faveur des Israelites du Bas-Rhin (Society for the Advancement of the Israelites of the Lower Rhine). He later felt that this involvement in Jewish communal affairs was a preparatory step to his baptism.

The esteem Ratisbonne received from Pope Gregory was shared by his successors. He was honored repeatedly by Pope Pius IX and was named a Protonotary Apostolic by Pope Leo XIII. A new Manual for Christian Mothers (1870) The Pope (1870) Gospel Tidbits (1872) A Response to Questions from an Israelite of our Time (1878) Mes souvenirs, Sources de Sion, Presses monastiques, rééd (1966)