Sister REGINE CANETTI, nds Congregation of Our Lady of Zion "My name is Regine Canetti, I was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1921 into a Jewish family: my mother's name was Rachel Canetti, my father Albert Canetti and I also had a sister who was four years older and a brother who was three years younger. Although we didn't go to synagogue very often, we were Jewish, unlike everyone around us who were Orthodox Christians." Sister REGINE CANETTI, nds Congregation of Our Lady of Zion I went to a French school: Notre Dame de Sion. I stayed 12 years in that school and my last year was in 1940: it was exactly the beginning of the war, of World War Two. Sister REGINE CANETTI, nds Congregation of Our Lady of Zion "My father did not have Bulgarian papers, which is why, when the war started, the government said to us Jews who were not Bulgarians: 'we cannot protect you, we cannot do anything for you. If something happens, you have to leave the country'. So a Jewish man, who was taking care of the Jews in Bulgaria, found an old ship, almost destroyed, on which all those who wanted to leave the country had to embark in the port of Warna in Bulgaria. It was horrible because it was 15 December, winter, and people were crowding to get on that small, shabby ship. I think it could only carry 150 people, but there were 350 people on it. Sister REGINE CANETTI, nds Congregation of Our Lady of Zion "We got on that ship thinking only that in five days we would arrive in Palestine. But as I said, it was winter and the sea was very rough, so the plan could not be kept. We arrived near Istanbul in Turkey and we had to stop there, but since we were foreigners, the Turkish government told us to stay three kilometres away from the shore and we stayed there for five days". Sister REGINE CANETTI, nds Congregation of Our Lady of Zion "We set off again, but in the afternoon the weather changed again and the storm came back even stronger and the ship began to lose pieces. Finally my father said: 'we know how to swim, let's jump in the water and swim'. So we jumped in, but once in the water the waves were getting higher and higher, it was horrible. I was with my father, my mother, my brother, my sister was not with us because she was already married. My mother and brother drowned, while my father and I were rescued. Most people died; only 114 people survived. Sister REGINE CANETTI, nds Congregation of Our Lady of Zion "The Sisters of Zion found me on a Kibbutz and invited me to go to Jerusalem. They told me they would give me what I needed, and I went. Little by little, I asked to become a nun. Sister REGINE CANETTI, nds Congregation of Our Lady of Zion "I can't believe I'm turning 100 today, and yet I am. If you ask me if I would like to change anything about my past life, I say no. It has been so full, so full of adventures: spiritually, physically, morally and socially. I am very happy." Read More