Every time the chaplain visited the hall, to speak a word of consolation to one and another, the poor Jew covered his head. The Sister sometimes ventured a few words to him about the good God, but he would never reply, and her approach was the signal for his feigning sleep. One evening when he appeared worse than usual, two Sisters went to see him just before they retired for the night. On hearing them approach, he exclaimed: "O Sister, a priest!" The chaplain was immediately summoned to his bedside, the poor dying man repeating all the while: "A priest! a priest!" As soon as the chaplain came, the patient made his profession of Faith in a very audible voice; he then confessed, and just as the priest, in administering Extreme Unction, was anointing the ears, the penitent rendered his soul to God, leaving us the consoling hope that it had found mercy in its Maker's sight.
In 1866, at the Military Hospital of Palermo, was a poor man who had just undergone the amputation of his left arm. His impiety was so great, that the Sister felt constrained to remove a large crucifix that had been placed near his bed, for he covered it with invectives. The miserable man's bodily infirmities were as hopeless as his spiritual, yet no one could succeed in inducing him to give any attention to his soul, or even to listen to a word about the good God. What could be done in such an extremity? The poor Sister was in great distress, when one day whilst dressing his wounds she was inspired to slip a medal of the Immaculate Conception between the bandages around the stump of the amputated member. Next morning, on witnessing the great change that had been wrought in her patient's spiritual condition during the night, she was less astonished than happy, for she had confidently relied upon the Blessed Virgin. He asked for a priest, who came immediately; he confessed, publicly repaired the scandals of his past life, and received with piety the Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction. His few remaining days were spent in blessing that God who had shown him such boundless mercy. "Oh! how good God is!" did he repeat incessantly to his companions, "I have committed manifold sins and He has pardoned me all!"