Pope Francis visits Saint Andrea delle Fratte

Pope Francis prayed in the church before the image of the Virgin Mary as she appeared before Ratisbonne one hundred and seventy five years ago, on January 20, 1842. At that moment, in the words of the Pope, “from being an atheist and enemy of the Church, he became a Christian”. Even more so, following his conversion, Alphonse became a Jesuit priest and missionary and ended up cofounding the religious Congregation dedicated to Our Lady of Sion.