TESTIMONY
Sr. Siham Zgheib, FMM My name is Siham Zgheib. I’m a Sister of Lebanese origin, responsible for the community of FMM Sisters in Aleppo, Director of the center “the source” for autistic children, on the pastoral and psychospiritual accompaniment level. With the Sisters of the community, we work with women’s groups, families, and young people, and in the service of welcoming groups.
On September 14th, I celebrated the silver jubilee of my consecration as a Franciscan Missionary of Mary. In 2004, I pronounced my perpetual vows and was sent to the mission in Syria: I spent two years in Damascus, the capital; 7 years in Hassaké, a city in the north of Syria; and I am currently in Aleppo. Our Institute: At the Service of the Mission in This World Founded in 1877 by Mother Mary of the Passion (Hélène de Chappotin) in the great missionary impulse of the 19th century, the Institute of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) is today an international Catholic congregation that works in 73 countries on the 5 continents. It is part of the Franciscan family.
UISG - Bulletin n. 178, 2022
Syria: Located in the Middle East, Syria’s capital is Damascus, a city mentioned in the Bible; at its gates, Saul (Shaol), received the Lord’s mandate to enter the city and be converted. (Acts 9,1-20). It was in Antioch (located in Syria until 1917), the believers were first called “Christians” (Acts 11,19-26). I live in Aleppo, one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. Tradition has it that Abraham came from Ur in Chaldea through Aleppo. The Syrian population is a mosaic of ethnicities and religions. It is composed of over 17 communities: the Sunnis (the majority), the Shiites, the Alawites, the Druze, the 6 Catholic
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