Sister Regine Canetti from the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Zion has died at the age of 104. Sister Regine was a Holocaust survivor, convert and nun who spent 80 years building Christian-Jewish understanding in the Holy Land. “Her life was such a silent witness to reconciliation, remembrance and hope,” Fr. Piotr Zelazko, patriarchal vicar for Hebrew-speaking Catholics of the Vicariate of St. James in Jerusalem, tells Heschel Center News.
Rescued from disaster
Regine Canetti was born in 1921 in Bulgaria, to a wealthy Jewish family. Her youth was marked by tragedy - she was one of the few survivors of the Salvador boat disaster, which transported Jewish refugees to Palestine in December 1940. The vessel, overcrowded and unsuitable for sea travel in winter conditions, sank off the coast of Turkey. More than 200 people perished, including Regine's mother and brother.
This experience shaped her life, in which pain turned into a desire for reconciliation, and the memory of the dead was expressed in prayer and service. After the war, Regine was baptized and joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Zion, a Catholic community founded to build bridges between Jews and Christians.
Memories of Sr. Regine
For decades she lived at the convent in Ein Kerem, where she participated in the spiritual life of the Vicariate of St. James, which brings together Hebrew Catholics in Israel. Fr. Piotr Zelazko recalls that Sr. Regine's presence was spiritually significant. "Regine was very independent, she had a very tough character, but on the other hand, also in dealing with people, she often showed her dignity - this kind of spirit of truth, spirit of reconciliation. She was simply herself," says the Polish priest. As he adds, her personality eluded patterns. Sister Regine was a person of boundaries - religious, social and cultural - and at the same time witnessed their crossing.
Farewell in Ein Kerem
Funeral ceremonies for Sr. Regine were held on July 21 at the convent in Ein Kerem, where she lived for years. The Mass was presided over by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. As Fr. Zelazko reported, the Italian cardinal called Sr. Regine “a woman of extraordinary courage” and a “bridge builder.” In addition, Cardinal Pizzaballa noted that her life can be an inspiration for those seeking forgiveness, justice, peace, reconciliation, and for those seeking their own identity between two worlds.
“We will miss Sister Regine greatly, but we are also aware that 104 is a beautiful age, and that it was a great grace that God gave her to us as a friend of the Vicariate of St. James,” the patriarchal vicar for Hebrew Catholics in Israel stressed.
Between two worlds - community and memory
The St. James Vicariate brings together Hebrew-speaking Catholics, not only those who speak Hebrew, but also those with Jewish roots. "We are suspended between two worlds - Jewish and Christian. I invite you to visit our website, to contact us, to become a friend of St. James - at friendsofstjames.org," says Fr. Piotr Zelazko.
Sister Regine Canetti was not only a Holocaust survivor, but transformed this experience into a testimony of faith and reconciliation. Her story has been memorialized by the Yad Vashem Institute, among others, in a video testimony, available online on the Israeli institution's website.
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Heschel Center News