JORDAN – On Saturday, July 3, 2021, the Rosary Sisters Congregation elected Mother Sophie Hattar as Superior General of the Rosary Sisters, in presence of Bishop William Shomali, Latin Patriarchal Vicar of Jordan.

The Congregation also elected counselors for the newly elected superior general; Sr. Madeleine Saleh Dababneh as assistant general, Sr. Maureen Fouad Baseel as second counselor, Sr. Virginie Jameel Habib as a third counselor and Sr. Ghada Elias Nehme as the fourth counselor.

On Sunday, July 4, 2021, the Rosary Sisters met in Jordan to pray and profess the vow of obedience to the new superior general. In their speech, the Religious Women congratulated Mother Sophie, and said: “We congratulate you and put our trust in you. It is a trust shaped with love, loyalty, and prayers so that the Lord may bestow upon you abundant blessings, health, wellness, success and determination to steer the helm of this ship in a sea of crashing waves, amid the fierce and raging winds that storm the region and the world. May the Virgin Mary be your refuge and companion in your blessed path”.

The Religious Women also thanked Mother Iness Al-Yaacoub and the general council for the devoted service to the congregation for many years, highlighting one of the most important events that Mother Iness experienced while being superior general, which was the beatification and canonization of Mother Marie Alphonsine, foundress of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary in Jerusalem.

Mother Sophie and the newly elected counselors, along with the members of the general council, thanked Mother Iness Al-Yaacoub and the former counselors Sr. Micheline Maalouf, Sr. Sylvestre Al-Alam and Sr. Leonie Salem for “all the efforts they made with honesty, love and devotion in the service of the congregation for many years”.

Biography of Mother Sophie Hattar

Mother Sophie was born in Amman on June 14, 1962. On August 15, 1979, she professed her first religious vows at the Congregation of the Rosary in Beit Hanina, and her permanent vows on August 15, 1986, in Anjara. She celebrated her silver jubilee at the Rosary Sisters Monastery in Shmeisani (Amman) in 2004.

In 1991, Mother Sophie obtained a BA in French from the New Sorbonne University in Paris, and a BA in French Language Teaching Methods from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik in Lebanon in 1998. She also obtained a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from The University of Jordan in 2005. 

Mother Sophie was in charge of the Rosary Kindergarten at the Rosary Sisters School in Sharjah, Halwan. She was also a music and religious education teacher in Shmeisani in Amman, and a teacher and coordinator of the French language at the Rosary Sisters School in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem. She then went back to Jordan to work as a teacher, director of the elementary department, and coordinator of the French language at the Rosary Sisters School in Marj Al Hamam, and a teacher, principal and assistant at the Rosary School in Irbid. 

Mother Sophie was also a supervisor of the secondary section at the Rosary School in Abu Dhabi, and a principal at the Rosary School in Marj Al Hamam. 

Source: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem