I said a few words to the Blessed Virgin, then fell asleep

Raïssa Maritain (1883-1960) was a Russian-born French poet and philosopher, who was raised Jewish but later became an agnostic. In 1946, she told the French newspaper Témoignage chrétien how she converted to Roman Catholicism with her husband, the philosopher Jacques Maritain.

"One day, I was ill and in terrible pain, when Jeanne Bloy (the wife of the French Catholic author Leon Bloy) came to see me. She sat by my bed, and told me to pray. She said she was going to give me a medal of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I couldn’t speak, but felt very annoyed by what seemed to me a serious indiscretion. Since I was unable reply to Jeanne, she put the medal around my neck. Immediately, and without realizing what I was doing, I said a few words to the Blessed Virgin, trustingly, then fell into a pleasant and restorative sleep. This was the beginning of my recovery."

Jacques and Raïssa were secretly baptized in Montmartre (Paris, France) on June 11, 1906. The eccentric Leon Bloy served as godfather to both of his friends.

Adapted from a true story first published in Témoignage Chrétien, 1946 (Source: Collection of Marian Stories, 1976)