Jewish banker angry at Christianity receives apparition of Our Lady of Sion, instantly converts and becomes a priest
Afonso Ratisbone, until January 20, 1842, was a 27-year-old Jew, banker, rich (and relative of one of the richest families in the world), intelligent, graduated in law and very well educated. Like every Jew, he didn't believe in Jesus. But that's not all. He harbored horror, hatred, anger at Christianity. Everything was reason to generate some persecution of Christians. But the unthinkable happened in his family: his brother, Theodore Ratisbone, converted to Christianity and becomes a priest! Family ties were broken immediately.
The family's business, therefore, would be taken over by Afonso. She was also engaged to a Jewish woman and a scheduled marriage. They then decided to travel through Italy before the wedding. Many museums and churches were known along the way, as it could not fail to be in Italy at the time. But it further enraged his heart against Christianity. In the city of Rome, he decided to visit an old friend, named Gustavo Bussières, despite this being A Protestant. He said these Christians he still tolerated in some way. But he hardly knew that on the spot he would be introduced to his brother, the Baron of Bussières, who had converted to Catholicism and was a friend of the priest Theodore Ratisbone, his brother of blood: pure providence!
He tried to avoid meeting Baron de Bussières, but he didn't escape. He tried to introduce you to the Catholic faith, boring you immensely, but no results. At great cost he was able to postpone the Jew's stay for a few days so that he could go to Mass in St. Peter's Basilica the next day. The education and good treatment with the people afonso had did not allow him to escape from the severe insistence of man. And he got more, made Alphonsus accept as a gift a Miraculous Medal and a copy of the prayer: Remember St. Bernard of Clareval. As revenge, he thought of writing an account of his journey and this brother of Bussières would be a persona non grata.
The day before they went to Mass, the Baron spoke with the Count of La Ferronays, Ambassador of France to the Holy See and man of immense piety, about the young Afonso Ratisbone he had just met. The Count prayed a hundred times the prayer Remember for the conversion of the Jew and there are reports that he even offered his life for him to effectively convert. He passed away the other day.
It was January 20, 1942. The Baron went to the church to help at his friend's funeral, taking Afonso along. He was angry, he was growling insults and jokes at Catholicism until he got to church. Arriving, the Baron went to solve the problems, leaving his guest on one side of the church, and the opposite side was closed because the funeral would take place there. He solved everything and came back, not meeting the Jew anymore. He began to walk through the church, until he found him on the opposite side that was closed, on his knees, crying at the sobs. He was no longer a Jew, but a fervent Catholic! What do you mean, you don't know?
Afonso asks for the presence of a priest to report what happened. Arriving the priest says, "I saw her! I saw her!" , showing the image of Our Lady in the Miraculous Medal she received earlier, and reports:
"I was there little in the church, when suddenly I felt overwhelmed by an inexplicable restlessness. I lifted my eyes; the whole building had disappeared in my sight; a single chapel had, so to speak, concentrated all light, and in the midst of this splendor appeared, standing on the altar, great, bright, full of majesty and sweetness, the Virgin Mary, as it is in my Medal; an irresistible force attracted me to Her. The Virgin signaled to me with her hand that I would kneel, and seemed to say: very well! She didn't tell me anything, but I understood everything."
He also did not know how he miraculously passed from the side of the church that was open to the closed opposite side. The news of his conversion quickly spread across Europe, leading to formal and rigorous investigations of the Holy See which concluded that everything was true and giving faith to the reports to the young. Our Lady of Sion was the name given to this apparition of the Mother of God.
Not just of converted and baptized. He entered the priesthood and at the request of Pope Pius XI went to join his efforts with his brother Theodore. They founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of Our Lady of Sion, with the purpose of converting the Jews to Christianity. . .