Deir Rafat
דיר ראפאת
دير رفات
Deir Rafat is located in Jerusalem
Deir Rafat
Deir Rafat
Coordinates: 31°46′34″N 34°56′47″E / 31.77611°N 34.94639°E / 31.77611; 34.94639
Grid position144/131 PAL
CountryIsrael
DistrictJerusalem
CouncilMateh Yehuda
Founded1927
Founded byLuigi Barlassina
Population
 (2021)[1]
99

Deir Rafat (Arabic: دير رفات, Hebrew: דיר ראפאת), also known as the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Palestine and of the Holy Land, is a Catholic monastery in central Israel. Located to the north-west of Beit Shemesh, between Givat Shemesh and kibbutz Tzora to the south and Kfar Uria to the north, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 99.[1]

History

Deir Rafat Monastery, 1948

The monastery was established in 1927 by the Latin Patriarch Luigi Barlassina and contained a boarding school, an orphanage and convent. Currently the convent is running a guest house and a retreat center for believers and Holy Land pilgrims. The façade of the convent church bears the Latin inscription "Reginæ Palæstinæ", lit. "to the Queen of Palestine", and carries a 6-metre statue of the Virgin Mary. The church ceiling is decorated with a painting showing angels carrying banners with the first words of the Hail Mary prayer in 280 languages.[2][3] Since 2009, the convent is in the care of the female branch of the Catholic order known as "the Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno", called the monastic Sisters of Bethlehem.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 Monastère Notre-Dame de Palestine: Deir Rafat Monastic Family of Bethlehem
  3. The Shrine of Our Lady "Queen of Palestine" and the Holy Land at Rafat Archived 2018-09-08 at the Wayback Machine LPJ

Bibliography

  • Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: IAA, Wikimedia commons
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