Søster Abraham

Kirsten Stoffregen Pedersen (26 February 1932 – 30 May 2017), widely known as Sister Abraham and in Denmark as Søster Abraham, was a Danish nun, religious researcher and teacher. After becoming a Catholic nun in Sweden in the 1950s, she returned to study in Copenhagen but moved to Israel in 1965. After years of further study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, she earned a doctorate in 1991. In addition to her extensive understanding of theology, especially the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, she is remembered for her interest in iconography and for guiding pilgrims through the streets of Jerusalem.

Biography Born in the Copenhagen district of Valby, Kirsten Stoffregen Pedersen was brought up in a Lutheran home where her father took a special interest in the Christian youth organization, Frivilligt Drenge- og Pige-Forbund. She attended N. Zahle's School (1937–1948) and Østersøgades Gymnasium, where she specialized in Latin and Greek, matriculating in 1951. From the age of 12, she regularly attended Roman Catholic services, converting to Catholicism when she was 18. On completing her school education, she moved to Vadstena, Sweden, where she became a Bridgettine nun.

In 1962, together with several other sisters, she left the convent although she continued to be a nun. She was not happy with the patriarchal management of the Catholic Church, believing that women should be treated on an equal basis.

Sister Abraham intended to die in the Holy Land but in 2014 was obliged to return to Denmark as a result of deteriorating health. She spent her last years in a home in Næstved close to her brother's home. After suffering from dementia, she died on 30 May 2017.