Catholic nun assaulted in Jerusalem is praying for her attacker’s conversion

(LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic religious sister assaulted in broad daylight by an Israeli man has said she is praying for the conversion of her attacker.

The nun has been identified as Sister Marie-Reine in a statement from a friend, Leah Maryam. Catholic lay theologian Gideon Lazar publicly shared the statement on Saturday morning.

I recently spoke with a friend who knows this nun. I will share a message (with permission) from my friend here. Please join us in praying for the conversion of the attacker.

“The sister attacked is Sr Marie-Reine, a French sister working at the Ecole Biblique. I saw Sr… https://t.co/Np3doSQZem

— Gideon Lazar – The Byzantine Scotist (@ByzCat) May 2, 2026

Sr. Marie-Reine, a Frenchwoman who works for the French School of Biblical and Archeological Research in Jerusalem, did not suffer any “further complications” from the attack aside from a bloody right temple, according to Maryam.

The nun described her attacker as a “middle-aged religious Jew” who is “somewhere between the hareidi (ultra-Orthodox) and the dati leumi (religious nationalist) camps,” adding that she was rescued by three Jewish bystanders.

Gideon Saar, the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, personally called the nun “to apologize for the attack.” Sr. Marie-Reine is “praying for the conversion of her attacker,” according to Maryam.

SHOCKING: Footage shows BRUTAL ATTACK on a Catholic nun in Jerusalem by a 36-year-old Israeli man. pic.twitter.com/gnZhRvtcta

— LifeSiteNews (@LifeSite) May 1, 2026

The 36-year-old attacker has been arrested and remains in custody, according to the Israeli government. The assault took place near King David’s tomb in Jerusalem on Tuesday. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the attack as a “repulsive and barbaric hate crime.”

Bishop William Shomali told EWTN last Thursday that, since the beginning of this year, “the aggressions against Christians in the West Bank are multiplying.”

Last year in Jerusalem alone, 155 to 181 incidents of assault, harassment, and vandalism targeted at Christians were recorded, according to the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue and the Religious Freedom Data Center (RFDC).