The local council in the town of Qana al-Jalil (Kafr Kanna) within the 1948 territories is preparing to commemorate an Italian doctor who provided humanitarian medical services and assistance to the people of the town and neighboring towns since before the Nakba, for 40 years, by naming one of the public institutions after her.
The story revolves around Sister Giovina Messi, who emigrated from her native Italy to Palestine in 1928. After Bethlehem and Haifa, she settled in the Franciscan convent in Kafr Kanna in 1938, remaining faithful to her vows of service to Christianity and humanity until her death in 1978.
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Today, visited the Franciscan convent in Cana of Galilee and spoke with its abbess, Sister Renée Moussa, a native of the neighboring city of Nazareth. Sister Moussa recalled that the convent she heads was built in 1912, noting that the Franciscan Order originated in Europe at the beginning of the 13th century and spread throughout the world.
Sister Moussa's life intersects with that of the late Italian physician, Giovina Messi, as both dedicated themselves to religious life from a young age, despite their families' reservations. Musa explains that the convent in Kafr Kanna, the town mentioned in the New Testament where Jesus performed his first miracle during a wedding visit—turning water into wine after it ran out—began providing humanitarian services immediately after its construction at the beginning of the 20th century, particularly in teaching girls sewing and embroidery.
She adds, "In the next phase, the convent began offering educational, therapeutic, and health services, opening a school and a free clinic within the convent during the British Mandate period."
The convent maintains a large collection of photographs documenting its history and activities, in addition to an archive of manuscripts, mostly handwritten by the abbesses generation after generation.
Musa adds with regret, "Unfortunately, the phenomenon of declining nuns has also reached the country. Few women join convents today due to the influence of secularism and modernity."
She adds, "I can almost say with certainty that I am the only nun who has left Nazareth since I took my vows to the Franciscan convent in Nazareth and Kafr Kanna in the 1980s."
Memory strip
The visit to this monastery in Kafr Kanna was deeply emotional for the writer, as his mother had completed her primary education there, and he himself had attended the first year of his schooling in what was known as "pre-kindergarten," before kindergarten. He still remembers the shock and tears of his first day, especially after discovering that the school uniform was the same for both boys and girls—a pinafore resembling a dress. He refused to wear it, considering it a girl's uniform, perhaps reflecting the deeply ingrained patriarchy in Eastern societies.
The abbess heard this from her visitor, as a flood of memories and associations stirred simply by seeing the monastery and school buildings again. She smiled, delighted by this historical connection from over 50 years ago.
Memories flooded back during the visit to the monastery after seeing Dr. Jovina's clinic, where he had received treatment several times during his childhood. In his mind's eye, he could once again smell the medicine and feel the coolness of the room, built with thick stone walls that maintained a comfortable temperature throughout the year.
Treating the rebels
The residents of Kafr Kanna confirm the abbess's account of the Italian volunteer doctor and her unwavering dedication to serving the community year after year. Sami Safouri told that he heard his father repeatedly say that she treated wounded Palestinians at the convent from the start of the Great Palestinian Revolt in 1938 until its end in 1940.
He also mentioned hearing testimonies from the town's elders that when British colonial soldiers forced the young men of Kafr Kanna to walk on thorny prickly pear cacti as punishment, Mother Giovina would sneak out at night with her lamp to treat them and alleviate their pain in their homes, despite being aware of the risks.
He added, "After the Nakba, she would summon specialist doctors to treat some of the most difficult cases, and when she learned that a patient was unable to come to her clinic inside the convent, she would go to their home and treat them."
Dr. Nayef Khmaisi, a native of the town, explains that he remembers her well, saying that he was one of her patients during his childhood. He notes that he later understood that her treatments relied primarily on penicillin and various antibiotics and stimulants, depending on her diagnostic skills despite limited resources.
He added, "I heard from the townspeople that she treated them for free, and even provided the medication without charge."She died twice, 53 years apart.
Hajja Warda Habiballah Amara (Um Fakhri) from Kafr Kanna was one of her patients, and it was thanks to her that she was saved from death, which had visited her twice.
Um Ahmad, Hajja Warda's daughter, recalls what happened to her mother during the Tripartite Aggression against Egypt in 1956. She fell ill and underwent abdominal surgery, suffering severe pain at the English Hospital in Nazareth. At the end of the day, the family was informed by telephone of her death.
Um Ahmad explains that her late father, Abu Fakhri, took some of his brothers and traveled to Nazareth. They brought back Hajja Warda's body after the doctors confirmed her death during the surgery. Meanwhile, the women of the neighborhood were preparing everything required for the funeral, while the men had already dug a grave for her next to her father in the old Muslim cemetery and brought the coffin from the mosque.
According to the daughter's account, Umm Nimr al-Rihani, one of the neighbors who came to bid her farewell, sensed a very slight movement in her body. She immediately called for her husband, who rushed to fetch a renowned doctor from Nazareth. After examining her, the doctor declared that she had only a few hours left to live and returned home.
The daughter adds that the family remained unconvinced and summoned an Italian nun and doctor named Madre Gobineau, who lived at the Franciscan monastery in the town and volunteered to treat the villagers.
She continued, "Upon her arrival, the nun confirmed that my mother was still alive. She administered Epsom salt, serums, and other antibiotics, and treated her for three days after cleaning and closing her wounds. Life began to return to her, and she improved until she awoke the day after her 'death.'"Closing the shrine
Umm Ahmad recalls that her father returned the coffin to the mosque, and her uncles and aunts, who had come from the neighboring village of Ein Mahel, closed the grave designated for Umm Fakhri.
She continues, "When my brother Fakhri was preparing for his wedding, the family made a vow that if she survived
, Umm Fakhri would wear a wedding dress next to her daughter-in-law." Smiling, the daughter confirmed that the vow was fulfilled. Her mother wore a wedding dress and sat next to her daughter-in-law on her son's wedding day, making it a double celebration.
The family had celebrated Hajja Warda's centennial in 2006, not only to mark her diamond jubilee but also to celebrate her return from the dead after 50 years.
Hajja Warda passed away in 2009 at the age of 103, 53 years after her "death" was announced, and her neighbors still remember her fondly.
Forgiveness is a virtue
In a previous interview with this writer in 2006, Umm Fakhri recalled her "death" in 1956, saying with a laugh, "May God forgive Dr. Bernard, the doctor at the English Hospital. My stomach was hurting, how could he have killed me? Anyway, forgiveness is a virtue."
Until her death, Umm Fakhri enjoyed good health and regularly watched television, or "the wonder box," as she called it, which she considered the greatest wonder of the world these days. However, she was afraid of riding in cars.
It is worth noting that Hajja Umm Fakhri had 246 children and grandchildren, and her sense of humor remained undiminished until her final days, according to them.
As for the doctor who treated her, Madre Jovina, she passed away long before her, succumbing to an illness at the Italian Hospital in Haifa on August 24, 1978. Before her departure, the people of Kafr Kanna and the surrounding area prayed and supplicated for her recovery in churches and mosques, because she had provided great services, as dozens of them confirm.
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