Michael October - November

A MAGAZINE OF EDUCATION AND EVANGELIZATION

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Pope Francis: “Money rules”

For the Triumph of the Immaculate

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The Encyclical on

faith

Lumen Fidei

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Pope Francis at

the World Youth

Day in Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil

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HABEMUS

PAPAM!

57thYear. No.374

March/April2013

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Cardinal Jorge

Mario Bergoglio

of Argentina

is now

POPE

FRANCIS

or the Triumph of the Immaculate

BENEDICT XVI

POPE FROM

2005 TO 2013

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Perhaps one of the most renowned miracles cred-

ited to the Miraculous Medal was the conversion of

Alphonse Ratisbonne. He was the son and heir of a

wealthy, aristocratic family of Jewish bankers in Stras-

burg, France. When he was a child, his older brother,

Theodor, had converted to the Catholic faith and be-

come a priest. Alphonse’s family cut off all contact with

Theodor, and Alphonse himself, resolved never to so

much as speak to his brother again.

Many years later, while in

Rome, Alphonse met an old

classmate, Gustavo de Buis-

sières and they renewed their

friendship. Gustavo had an older

brother, the Baron Théodore de

Buissières, who had also con-

verted to Catholicism and was a

very close friend of Alphonse’s

brother, Theodor. Surprisingly,

Alphonse and the Baron became

good friends, but this still did not

change Alphonse’s hatred of the

Church. He thought nothing of

making sarcastic and blasphem-

ous remarks against the Catholic

faith to his new friend. Finally,

the Baron, having endured more

than he could stand of the irritat-

ing behavior on the part of Ratis-

bonne, challenged him with a

proposition. Showing him a “Mir-

aculous Medal” he dared him to

wear it around his neck for one

month, along with the promise to

recite the “Memorare” prayer every morning and every

evening.

Ratisbonne was stunned; he didn’t know what to

say. The Baron went on to say,

“Alphonse, although I

know this would seem only ridiculous to you, I attach

great importance to this medal, please, submit to my

request.”

And through some special grace from God,

Alphonse, though almost in a daze, allowed the Baron’s

little daughter to place the medal around his neck, and

laughing, he joked,

“Now I am a Roman, apostolic Cath-

olic ! ”

Then, wasting no time, the Baron de Buissières

contacted his Catholic friends, asking them all to pray

for the conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne.

Not long after, the two men met on the street in

front of the basilica of St. Andrea delle Fratte in Rome.

The Baron was arranging for the funeral of a very close

friend. He asked Ratisbonne to wait for him inside

the church while he went to speak with the monks in

the monastery. Upon his return, he found Ratisbonne

kneeling before the altar of St. Michael, sobbing, his

face bathed in tears, pleading to be taken to a priest for

confession ! This is what he related to his friend:

“I had been but a fewmoments in the church when

I was suddenly seized with an unutterable agitation of

mind. I raised my eyes; the building had disappeared

from before me; one single side altar had, so to speak,

gathered and concentrated all the light. And in the

midst of that radiance I saw standing on the altar loft,

clothed with splendor, full of majesty and of sweet-

ness, the Virgin Mary, just as she is represented on

the medal.

“An irresistible force drew

me towards her; the Virgin

made me a sign with her hand

that I should kneel down; and

then she seemed to say, That

will do! She spoke not a word

but I understood all.”

At the time of this miraculous

vision, Ratisbonne was twenty-

seven years old, preparing to

take his place as a partner in his

uncle’s bank and engaged to be

married to his beautiful cousin.

His fiancée was only sixteen at

the time, so it had been deemed

reasonable that they should post-

pone their wedding and for this

reason Ratisbonne had decided

to take a trip through Europe.

That is what had brought him to

be in Rome on that day.

Ratisbonne realized that to

convert to the Catholic faith would

mean that he would have to sacri-

fice all his earthly hopes and inter-

ests, but this thought did not dissuade him. He later wrote:

“...I felt ready for everything and [immediately] in-

sistently demanded baptism. They wanted to delay

it. ‘But how! ’ I exclaimed, ‘the Jews who heard the

preaching of the Apostles were baptized immediately,

and you want to delay it, even though I heard the Queen

of the Apostles ! ”

Eleven days later, Ratisbone was baptized, made his

First Holy Communion and was confirmed. After break-

ing off his engagement to his fiancée, he entered the

religious life and was ordained a priest in 1847. It was

his great desire to dedicate the rest of his life working

and praying for the conversion of his fellow Jews and

for Muslims, and with his brother Theodor, he found-

ed an order of nuns – the Congregation of Our Lady of

Zion – to pray for this very intention. He and his brother

moved the sisters to the Holy Land and built two con-

vents, a school and two orphanages. There he labored,

with a few more companions (the Fathers of Zion) until

his death in1884.

Anne Marie Jacques

The Conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne Through the Miraculous Medal

MICHAEL October/November/December 2013