A man, gripped by irrational anger at the slightest mention of Catholic matters, encountered the Mother of God at a typical side altar of a church in Rome.
Alphonse Ratisbonne's (1814-1884) story is a captivating and inspiring example of what happens when someone encounters divine grace. A man consumed by irrational anger at the mere mention of Catholic matters finds himself encountering the Mother of God at a typical Roman church’s side altar.
All Roads Lead To Rome
The story involves an accidental boat trip and a good friend who never ceases to hope in God's grace and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ratisbonne's anger was attributed to the rationalistic mood of the time, which swept any supernatural manifestation or possibility of it with conspicuous disdain and doubt.
He lost his mother at the age of four, and in a sense, his brother at the age of 16, as he abandoned the family's Jewish traditions to become a Catholic priest.
“When my brother became a Catholic and a priest, I pursued him with a more unrelenting hatred than any other member of my family. We were completely torn apart; I hated him with the most violent hatred, although he fully forgave me.”
Ratisbonne studied law and began his adult life as an employee of a family bank in France. He was too preoccupied with worldly pursuits to bother with his Jewish faith, and his deep hatred for Catholicism only pushed him further away from any religion. Marriage seemed to be the next step in his life, so he decided to get engaged to his niece according to the customs of the time, but the wedding was postponed due to the girl's young age. Ratisbonne decided to travel aimlessly during the waiting period.
His journey began in Naples, where he stayed for about a month. He then intended to go to Malta but boarded the wrong ship and arrived in Rome. He stayed there and made the best of the situation: he visited an old friend, where he met Theodore de Bussieres, a baron who had converted to Catholicism. He even knew his brother, a priest. Although he approached the man with aversion, he enjoyed talking to him because of his knowledge.
A Bet That Led To An Encounter With The Blessed Virgin Mary
Later, Ratisbonne visited de Bussieres again. During one of these visits, they had such a heated debate about Catholicism that de Bussieres bet with Ratisbonne to wear the Miraculous Medal and recite Saint Bernard's prayer to the Virgin in the morning and evening. He taunted him, asking,
"Is he brave enough to subject himself to a very simple and innocent trial?"
In those days, he accompanied his newfound friend, who wanted to have a Requiem Mass at the Sant'Andrea delle Fratte church. Suddenly, as he walked around the temple, everything went dark around him, leaving only a very bright space in the temple.
He claimed to have seen an extraordinarily beautiful woman whom he recognized as the Virgin Mary, as depicted on the Miraculous Medal, bathed in light.
He later stated:
"The Virgin said not a word, but I understood her perfectly... I felt such a complete change of heart that I believed myself to be another person; the most ardent joy broke into my soul's deepest recesses; I could not speak... I could not account for the truths I had acquired faith and knowledge of. I can only say that a veil fell from my eyes upon entering the church; not a single veil, but a whole host of veils that surrounded me... I emerged from the depths of darkness, and in its depths, I saw the infinite wretchedness from which infinite mercy drew me... so many people descend silently into this abyss, their eyes closed by pride and indifference... They ask me how I learned these truths, for surely I never opened a religious book, never read a single page of the Bible: all I know is that upon entering the church, I disregarded everything, and upon leaving, I saw everything clearly... I had no literal knowledge; the meaning and spirit of the dogmas were clarified, everything happened within me, and these impressions, a thousand times faster than thought, not only moved my soul but directed it towards a new life... prejudices against Christianity no longer existed, the love of my God took the place of all other love."
180-Degree Turnaround
Following the experience, Ratisbonne took a new direction in his life. Cardinal Costantino Patrizi baptized him 11 days later after this event. The news of his conversion spread throughout Roman society.
Upon returning to Paris, his fiancée did not wish to convert to Catholicism, so they parted tearfully. Influenced by the experience of divine grace, he first became a Jesuit and then, along with his previously hated brother, founded the Notre Dame de Sion Missionary Priests, whose aim was to present Jesus as the Jewish Messiah to the chosen people.
This wonderful conversion story later influenced Saint Maximilian Kolbe, whose evangelization movement, the Militia Immaculatae, continued the effects of grace of the Miraculous Medal in the 20th century, introducing the role of the Virgin Mary, whose goal is to lead the world to her Son, Jesus Christ.
Ratisbonne's story is a true conversion and illustrates well that friendly challenges can have a place in God's plan and sanctification.