Jean-Baptiste Gourion
| Jean-Baptiste Gourion | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 24, 1934 Oran, Algeria |
| Died | June 23, 2005 (aged 70) |
| Nationality | French |
Jean-Baptiste Gourion, O.S.B. (24 October 1934 – 23 June 2005) was a French Jewish-born Benedictine monk and auxiliary bishop from 2003 until his death.
Gourion was born in 1934 in Oran, Algeria, to a Jewish family, when Algeria was a French colony. When studying medicine in France, he decided to enlist in French Army during the Algerian War.
Gourion converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism in 1958. In 1961, he entered a Benedictine Monastery and in 1967, he was ordained a priest.[1] Father Gourion came to Israel in 1976 with two other monks in order to rebuild the old monastery that was in Abu Gosh and in 1999 was named abbot of the monastery.[2]
In 2003, Gourion was nominated Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem by Pope John Paul II. In the same year he was also appointed the titular see of Lydda.[1][3] His mission consisted to care of Hebrew Catholics' spiritual necessities. He died on June 23, 2005.