RATISBONNE, MARIE-THÉODORE:
French convert to Catholicism; born at Strasburg Dec. 18, 1802; died at Paris Jan. 10, 1884; son of the president of the Jewish consistory of Strasburg. He practised law until his conversion to Catholicism in 1826, when he took holy orders. He became successively professor in the Petit Seminaire, assistant rector of the Cathedral of Strasburg, and superior-general of the order Notre Dame de Sion, founded by him in thanksgiving for the conversion of his brother, Alphonse-Marie. Among other works Ratisbonne published: "Essai sur l'Education Morale" Strasburg, 1828); "Histoire de Saint-Bernard" (2 vols., ib. 1841; 5th ed., 1864); "Le Manuel de la Mère Chrétienne" (ib. 1860); "Questions Juives"(ib. 1868); "Miettes Evangéliques" (ib. 1872); " Réponse aux Questions d'un Israélite de Notre Temps" (ib. 1878).
- La Grande Encyclopédie.
