It was expected that Mother Marie-Alphonsine would open a school in Beit-Sahour, the shepherds’ village, quite near Bethlehem.

The Beit-Sahour mission was founded by Don Jean Moretain in 1879 following an appeal, addressed to the Patriarch, by a group of Latin Catholics who had until then been entrusted to the care of the Franciscans of Bethlehem. This priest came to Beit-Sahour with the good reputation of his great zeal, his talents as an architect and the struggles he victoriously overcame in his previous post in Beit-Jala. But, if the population showed itself to be compatible from the first, the site where he wanted to build the church caused him enormous difficulties, as much in the process of acquisition as in the construction of the building because of defects in the ground. It took him no less than 18 years before he could inaugurate the church (1877).

A haphazard installation

When the Sisters arrived at Beit-Sahour on 1 November, 1886, Don Moretain had been dead for the past three years. They were received by his successor, Don Simon Ishaq.

Mother Marie-Alphonsine was accompanied by her sister, Mother Hanneh, who came to preside at the installation and was to be replaced by Sister Elizabeth, recalled for this purpose from Zababdeh. Installation is in fact too pompous a word to describe taking possession of a ruined building and some rubble around it. While waiting for repairs to be done on an old house that was destined for them, the Sisters had to be satisfied with an old dilapidated school building for class-rooms and with a hut in the garden as their habitation.

But, that which rejoiced their hearts right from the time of their arrival was ‹‹the joy manifested by the inhabitants, the diligence of the children and the generosity of the parish priest.›› So Sister Marie-Alphonsine expressed herself. Don Ishaq truly helped them with all his capabilities, but this was not very much; he did not have the talent of his predecessor to build a house for them. They set to work to adapt a small place beside the school. That was urgent for they did not feel at all secure in their hut in the garden. Sister Elizabeth was frightened to death to live there and would never have dared to stay there alone.

One day when she was sick and Mother Marie-Alphonsine watched by her bedside, a very loud banging was made at their door followed by a grinding which startled them. Mother Marie-Alphonsine reports: “We were overcome with extreme fear, I cried: ‘Mary, protect us!’” And as if the help of the Virgin were insufficient, she began to invoke Saint Joseph, Saint Anthony and all the Saints … This prayer gave her a bit of courage, but not enough to allow her to open the door. She only half-opened a small grating which served as a window, and caught sight of a hyena that was moving away. The animal, in leaving, overturned a large piece of dry stone wall which served as enclosure.

Such an alarm aggravated Sister Elizabeth’s illness and filled both with a great desire to leave the place so much exposed to such undesirable visits. Yet, these were neither the only trials nor the most serious ones. The principle one was the lack of food.

The problem of bread and water

One of the great problems in Beit-Sahour had always been the supply of water. Deprived of water sources, the village depended on the miserable cisterns which collected the winter rains to provide for the whole year. But, during this winter of 1886, there was hardly any rain. That caused great scarcity: “We suffered very much from the lack of water.” wrote Mother Marie-Alphonsine. She adds that they had to buy water at the springs in Ortas.

To be obliged to buy water, when one is already very poor, is already a calamity which made the prophet Jeremias lament: aquam pecunia bibimus. But to buy it in Ortas, which is more than an hour’s walk from Beit-Sahour, doubled the price; moreover, the water-skins in which it was carried lost a good part of the precious liquid on the rocky pathways over the mountains.

“As for bread,” so continues the story, “Mother Rosalie sent it to us from the convent in Jerusalem.” Only, since they could not afford to pay a special carrier, they had to wait for occasions which were rather rare; Beit-Sahour is 10 kilometers distant from the Holy City and in a situation out of the normal route.

“Very often,” we read, “we lacked bread because those who were bringing it were delayed.”

The worst was that the porters themselves had empty stomachs and with the temptation becoming too great, the Sisters bread went to satisfy their appetites. They acknowledged it afterwards, certain of obtaining, by their confession, the pardon of the religious:

“Often very little bread reached us. We asked why, and they answered: “We were hungry and we ate on the way.”

On such days the Sisters felt the pangs of hunger: but they magnanimously offered the sacrifice of this imposed fast to obtain the blessing of heaven:

“We endured joyfully this suffering for the love of God and of Our Lady of the Rosary.”

For the souls who know the value of sacrifice, all suffering becomes enriching spiritually; and when poverty is lived in the neighborhood of the Crib of Bethlehem, it acquires in the eyes of the spouses of Christ a new charm. Thus there is no reason for surprise in the following passage:

“This mission became very dear to us, because it is the village of the shepherds who were the first to receive the news of the birth of Our Savior. Thanks be to God, for this precious favour.”

Joys of the ministry

The Sisters found another much appreciated satisfaction in the excellent response of the 45 girls whom they taught daily, along with the rudiments of human knowledge, the love of Jesus become Child for them in the grotto so close by in Bethlehem.

Besides, an even more intimate joy came to them from a secret ministry, then new to them. At the entrance to the Judean Desert, not far from Beit-Sahour, was the camp of the Ta’amri tribe. These were Bedouins tainted with Islamism rather than convinced Moslems. Their way to get to Bethlehem, for their bit of shopping, passed right in front of the Sisters’ door step.

It did not take them long to appreciate the Sisters’ charity and soon they brought their children to be cared for. The religious devoted themselves with all their heart to this work of charity; and when they saw the little ones on the point of death, they discreetly opened the door of paradise to them.

“On Christmas day,” we read in their account, “we baptized a little girl and a little boy. The baby girl died three hours after and the baby boy on the following day. What a consolation! These children pray now for the success of Our Congregation.”

The song of departure

The foundation was made and the work well launched in this village, evangelized long ago by the angels. The role of Mother Marie-Alphonsine was accomplished. Now she began to understand that her mission was to go before with the sowing and to leave to others the care of gathering the harvest.

The repairs of the house, destined for the Sisters, had just been finished. The provisional was about to give place to the permanent:

“In the morning we carried our things into the new place and we left the dangerous room in the garden with great joy.”

“In the evening of the same day, I received a new obedience. It was the order to leave the following morning for Salt.”

At the name of Salt, the capital of Belqa, her heart quivered with joy. It was then true that the Holy Virgin was about to fulfill the prophecy of the mysterious journey they made together, in a vision, to these desolate lands beyond the Jordan! Precisely so, the document of obedience mentioned “a big school to be established among the Bedouins”. Some time before, when she had been a prisoner in her father’s house, she received from Mgr. Bracco the promise to be sent to Salt; she had offered her life to God for this mission. Today, everything was being fulfilled; her joy overflowed and her heart sang:

“The offering of the sacrifice of my life and my journey towards this dangerous land made me extremely happy.”

Collecting her few clothes and saying good-bye to the children in school, giving them the last exhortations was a matter of only a short time. Above all, she wanted to make one more visit to the Crib in Bethlehem, where the Holy Virgin had granted her, in the past, precious graces and shown her in advance so many things about to be realized. She wished, very specially, to entrust her new mission to Jesus and to Our Lady. This joy was given to her on the morning of her departure:

“I visited the Crib and I asked for the grace of accomplishing everything I would have to do, for the good pleasure of God. Of what sacrifices is one not capable with the strength of Grace?”