Saint Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas of Palestine

Born "Sultana Maria" (Arabic for "Queen Mary") in 1843, Marie Alphonsine's birth name was a premonition of her lifelong devotion to the Virgin Mary. Sultana Maria Danil Ghattas was born in Jerusalem to an Arab family of practicing Catholics. Her parents attended daily mass, and performed the rosary with friends.  Sultana Maria entered the congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition at age 14, and took her final vows at age 17- taking also the name Marie Alphonsine.

Mother Marie Alphonsine was sent to teach at the Sisters' school in Bethlehem, where she excelled as an educator, and inspired those around her with her humility and compassion. It was during her time in Bethlehem, that she began having visions of Mary that would continue over the course of 4 years. In them, Our Lady would ask Mother Marie Alphonsine to create a new religious order of Arab women devoted to the rosary.  The Congregation of the Rosary Sisters was founded in 1880, and Mother Marie Alphonsine officially became a "Rosary Sister”.
Throughout the rest of her life, Mother Marie Alphonsine served in parishes, schools, and orphanages. Her kind, humble spirit and devotion to prayer marked the work she did wherever she went. While serving in Jaffa, she saved the life of girl who fell into a well by praying the rosary. In 1917, she founded an orphanage in Ein Karem- where she spent the remainder of her days. Mother Marie Alphonsine's last act was to pray the rosary with her sister, Hanneh Danil Ghattas, on March 25, 1927, the feast of the Annunciation. Handwritten accounts of her Marian visions were not shared with her congregation until after her death, according to her wishes.

The Congregation of the Rosary Sisters remains a powerful force in women's education in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Rome, Egypt, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The canonization in 2015 of Mother Marie Alphonsine, and Sister Mariam Baouardy (another Palestinian nun), was a profound act of hope to Middle Eastern Catholics who face violent persecution in the region. 2,000 Palestinian Catholics made the pilgrimage to the Vatican for the event. Pope Francis proclaimed that the new saints demonstrate how to "to live in unity with one another and with charity towards all.”

My homage to the unique and special Palestinian Saint Marie Alphonsine references through my use of ephemera the contemporary tragedy that continues to unfold in Palestine driven by Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). I’ve used Cash 4 Chaos club cards- referencing the profits made by Israeli and US backed war mongering; a ticket from the ancient site of Baalbeck, Lebanon that I visited which has since been bombed; a prayer slip from the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padova, Italy; Tulip and Poppy seed packets- the primary flowers grown in the region (the Poppy is a symbol of Palestinian resistance); a Childs guide to washing properly before entering a mosque that I found in Egypt or Morocco; a postcard from the Wall with a mural on it; a page illustrating our Solar System from a children’s book; a package of sardines; a sticker I found in Greece condemning the ongoing genocide of Palestinians; Iron Hold brand trash bags referencing Israels iron dome; a package of 48 colored pencils that speaks to the 1948 Nakba in which many Palestinians were forced to flee their ancestral homes. Saint Marie emerges almost ghost like- yet with a face and hands full of life and vitality- from a Palestinian flag, holding Edward Said’s Culture & Imperialism