The Absolutely Amazing Conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne

𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮 ‘𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀’ 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗸𝗲. 𝗦𝗮𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆. 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗺. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁. Tell me again how Mary’s not real.👇 Alphonse Ratisbonne was a wealthy French Jew, fiercely anti-Catholic. He hated the Church. Mocked Marian devotion. Laughed at his brother for becoming a priest. Then, while vacationing in Rome, he got dared by a Catholic nobleman to wear a medal. That medal? ➡️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹, revealed by the Virgin Mary to St. Catherine Labouré in 1830. He wore it mockingly. As a joke. Like some “test” to prove Catholics were superstitious. And he also said the Memorare prayer. Just once. Then it happened. January 20, 1842. Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, Rome. He was waiting inside the church, bored. Suddenly—a blinding light. The Virgin Mary appeared to him, surrounded by glory. Exactly as depicted on the medal. He didn’t hear words. He didn’t need to. In that one moment, he understood the entire Catholic Faith. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲. Grace hit him like fire. He converted within days. Broke off his engagement. Became a Jesuit priest. Later founded a religious order dedicated to praying for the conversion of Jews. He wore that medal every day till he died in 1884. His elite Jewish family? 🔥 FURIOUS.   • They tried to cover it up:   • Called him mentally unstable   • Claimed it was political manipulation   • Erased him from records   • Downplayed the medal and the vision They were ashamed of the miracle. They failed. Ratisbonne’s story spread across Europe like wildfire. People began wearing the Miraculous Medal by the millions. Conversions. Healings. Wonders. All pointing to Mary as Mediatrix of Grace. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁. Because if:   • Marian devotion is “idolatry”   • Sacramentals are “witchcraft”   • Visions don’t happen anymore …then what do you do with Ratisbonne? 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆: “Only Scripture!” “Mary’s dead!” “God doesn’t use medals!” But this man didn’t see a Bible. He saw the Mother of God. And it converted him instantly. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲. You say: “That’s not biblical.” Then explain why the Virgin shows up. Explain why grace flooded his soul. Explain why he died wearing the thing Protestants call “blasphemous.” You can hate Mary. You can ignore the saints. You can dismiss sacramentals. But one look from the Virgin cracked a hardened soul open— And it still echoes 180+ years later. This isn’t about superstition. It’s about Heaven fighting for souls. And Mary? She leads them straight to Christ. Just like she did at Cana. Just like she did with Alphonse.

Alphonse Ratisbonne wore the medal to mock Catholics. He died wearing it as a priest of Christ. Tell me again how Mary doesn’t save. I’ll wait.