In one of the prisons confided to the care of the Daughters of Charity, was a young man belonging to a respectable Catholic family, whose shame and disgrace he had become. After a short stay, he fell sick, and his condition necessitated removal to the infirmary; faithful to his principles of impiety, he absolutely refused all spiritual succor, and whenever he saw one of the chaplains pass, he either turned away his head or concealed it under the bedclothes. All the Sisters begged the Superioress to make one last effort for his soul. She paid him a visit, and was received politely, but to rid himself of her importunity, he avowed himself a Protestant, and related how he came to forsake the Faith, after making the acquaintance of several very bad characters, his companions in crime and his counselors in advising him to become a Protestant. The Sister asked him if he felt no remorse for such conduct, but he became enraged and exclaimed aloud: "I am a Protestant, and I wish to live and die a Protestant!" Seeing it impossible to do anything with the miserable creature, she interiorly recommended him to the Refuge of Sinners, and merely asked him to accept the medal she offered, to wear it and sometimes kiss it. He seemed quite pleased to get rid of her so easily, and placing all her confidence in Mary, she withdrew.
The poor man passed a sleepless night, our Blessed Mother touched his heart, and very early next morning he sent word to the Sister that he wanted a priest to receive his solemn profession of Faith, in reparation of his scandalous apostasy and crimes. But his reputation was such that the prison chaplain doubted his sincerity, and would not go to him except upon repeated solicitations of the Superioress. He was deeply affected at witnessing the change grace had wrought in this soul, and the consequent compunction with which the prodigal confessed his sins. The dying man then made a public abjuration of his errors, and expired a few minutes after, in the grace of God and under the protecting smile of Mary.
CONVERSION OF A SOLDIER AT THE HOSPITAL OF CAVA.
A young soldier suffering from disease of the chest, was brought to the Military Hospital of Cava. His first question was to ask if the Sisters had charge of that hospital; on receiving an affirmative answer, he said to himself: "They will bother me about going to confession, so I shall call myself a Jew to get rid of them," and Jew he was designated on the card of admission. Perceiving the serious nature of his malady, the Sisters to whose especial care he had been confided, visited him as often as possible. One of them offered him a medal of the Immaculate Conception; regarding it with a smile of pity, he said: "I accept it, because it would not be polite to refuse, but believe me, I consider it a mere plaything and nothing more."