which received the sanction of the Pope. A young French Jew of the
name of Alfonse Ratisbonne was discovered in an ecstasy before the
altar; which he accounted for by saying, when he revived, that the
Virgin Mary had actually appeared to him, and saluted him in this
place, while he was wandering aimlessly, and with a smile of
incredulity, through the church. This supernatural vision led to his
conversion, and he was publicly baptized and presented to the Pope by
his godfather, the general of the Jesuits; receiving on the occasion,
in commemoration of the miracle, a crucifix, to which special
indulgences were attached.

At the foot of the Capo le Case is the College of the Propaganda,
whose vast size and plain massive architecture, as well as its
historical associations, powerfully impress the imagination. It was
begun by Gregory XV., in 1622, and completed by his successor, Urban
VIII., and his brother, Cardinal Antonio Barberini, from the plans
partly of Bernini and Borromini. On the most prominent parts of the
edifice are sculptured bees, which are the well-known armorial
bearings of the Barberini family. The Propaganda used to divide with
the Vatican the administration of the whole Roman Catholic world. It
was compared by the Abbé Raynal to a sword, of which the handle
remains in Rome, and the point reaches everywhere. The Vatican takes
cognisance of what may be called the domestic affairs of the Church
throughout Europe; the College of the Propaganda superintends the
foreign policy of the Church, and makes its influence felt in the
remotest regions of the earth. It is essentially, as its name implies,
a missionary institution, founded for the promotion and guidance of
missions throughout the world. Nearly two hundred youths from various
countries are constantly educated here, in order that they may go back
as ordained priests to their native land, and diffuse the Roman