History of ROI

History of Remnant of Israel

Founded in 1976 by Father Arthur Klyber, C.Ss.R., with Mr. and Mrs. Mark Drogin, Remnant of Israel has helped to make Jesus known, loved and served by Jews who wondered, “Could Jesus be the promised Messiah?” To ask this question takes courage, because it calls to mind other difficult, deeply personal questions: “If He is the Messiah, how could we be wrong for 2,000 years? what will I tell my parents, my brothers and sisters, my children, my spouse? Am I converting to Catholicism or am I really entering into the fullness of Jewish belief?” There are countless other questions!

Father Klyber found the fullness of Judaism when he became a Catholic as a young man. He knew personally the struggles of Jews who become Catholic. “My baptism was followed by an interior joy which defies description,” he wrote. “I am not afraid to say that the joys of those early days in the Faith eclipsed, to a degree, even the joy of my Ordination. In my long priestly life I have found that Jewish people who meet the Messiah and accept Him need such a (joyous) lift at their baptism: most of them are punished severely by their loved ones for becoming Christians.”

For over twenty years Remnant of Israel has reached out to Jews in pain – not only from family, which is both horrible and understandable – but also to Catholic Jews who have suffered at the hands of Christians.

Our person-to-person apostolate extends to Catholics who, especially in the last few years, are becoming more and more aware of their urgent need to know and cherish their pre-Christian heritage. This search is more than mere “searching for one’s roots.” It can lead to genuine understanding between Christians and Jews and, thereby, create a new opportunity for Jews to respond to God’s evangelization of the world. Some are hesitant to speak of evangelizing the Jews in particular, but what hypocrites we are if we hide the light of Christ from them. By what right would we dare to do so? How are we to respond to Jesus Himself, when He asks us about our apostolic action? Dare we say to Him, “I evangelized everyone but the Jews”?