Alphonse Ratisbonne

Alphonse Ratisbonne came from a wealthy Jewish banking family of Strasbourg and had no interest in Christianity. Travelling in Rome in January 1842, he accepted, half in jest, a challenge from an acquaintance — the Baron Théodore de Bussières — to wear a Miraculous Medal and recite a short prayer. On 20 January 1842 the two entered the church of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, and de Bussières stepped away for a few minutes on an errand. Ratisbonne’s own account was recorded soon afterward.

The church of S. Andrea delle Fratte is small, poor, and almost deserted; I think I was almost the only person in it, and there was no work of art to attract my attention.Alphonse Ratisbonne, in The Conversion of Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne

I was looking round mechanically, without any definite thought or purpose; I remember only a black dog, which bounded and jumped before me as I moved about…. Suddenly the dog disappeared, the whole church disappeared; I saw nothing further, … or rather, O my God, I saw one only object!Alphonse Ratisbonne, in The Conversion of Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne

When de Bussières returned, he found Ratisbonne on his knees before one of the side chapels.

I lay there, prostrate, bathed in tears, my heart completely absorbed and lost, when M. de Bussieres recalled me to life. I could not answer his eager hurried questions; but at length I grasped the medal which I wore in my bosom; I kissed with fervent emotion the image of the Virgin, radiant with grace. Oh, yes, it was indeed her very self! I knew not where I was; I knew not whether I was Alphonse Ratisbonne or not; I was so entirely changed, that I did not know myself.Alphonse Ratisbonne, in The Conversion of Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne

Ratisbonne was baptized eleven days later, taking the name Marie. He was ordained a priest, and with his brother Théodore — himself a convert — he worked to found religious communities; he spent his last decades in the Holy Land. He was born in 1814 and died in 1884.