When the News Is Terrible, Pray for Conversion: The Lesson of St. Thérèse and Pranzini

It is easy to pray for people we love.

It is much harder to pray for someone who has done something terrible.

Yet St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus gives us a remarkable example of exactly this kind of prayer.

The Prisoner St. Thérèse Would Not Give Up On

Before she entered Carmel, the young Thérèse heard about Henri Pranzini, a convicted murderer who had been sentenced to death in France.

The reports surrounding his crimes were horrifying. Even more troubling to Thérèse was that he appeared unwilling to repent.

She did not know him.

She could not visit him.

She could not change what he had done.

But she could do something.

She could pray for his soul.

Thérèse prayed fervently for his conversion and offered sacrifices for him. Her concern was not that he escape earthly justice, but that before his death he would turn toward God and receive His mercy.

She trusted so confidently in God's mercy that she believed her prayers would be heard, while also asking for a little sign of his repentance.

Then came the day of his execution.

According to the account Thérèse later recorded in Story of a Soul, Pranzini initially refused the priest. But at the final moment, he suddenly turned, took the crucifix offered to him, and kissed the Sacred Wounds of Our Lord several times.

For Thérèse, this was the sign she had asked for.

She called him her “first child.”

It helped awaken in her an even greater thirst for the conversion of souls.

She Did Not Excuse His Crime

This is an important part of the story.

Praying for someone's conversion does not mean pretending that evil isn't evil.

It does not mean that justice shouldn't be served.

It does not mean minimizing the suffering of victims.

St. Thérèse wasn't praying that evil suddenly be called good.

She was praying that a sinner would repent before meeting God.

That distinction can teach us a great deal about responding to the world today.

What Do We Do When We Hear Something Horrible?

We open the news and hear about another murder.

Another act of violence.

Another attack against innocent people.

Another scandal.

Another terrible crime.

Another person openly mocking God or promoting something contrary to His commandments.

Our immediate reaction may be anger, disgust, fear, or even hatred.

Some of those reactions are understandable.

But what if we developed another response?

Pray immediately for conversion.

When you hear about someone committing something terrible, say:

“Jesus, convert this soul.”

Pray for justice.

Pray for the victims.

Pray for their families.

Pray for protection of the innocent.

But also pray:

“Lord, do not allow this person's soul to be lost.”

That is profoundly Christian.

Imagine If Catholics Prayed Through the News

Instead of allowing the news to fill us only with anger and anxiety, we could turn it into a list of intentions.

When you hear about violence, pray for the victims and the conversion of those responsible.

When you hear about hatred toward the Church, pray for those attacking her.

When you hear about corruption, pray for conversion and justice.

When our leaders make decisions contrary to God's law, pray for their conversion, wisdom, and courage to do what is right.

When you see something troubling happening in Massachusetts, pray for Massachusetts.

When our country seems to be moving farther from God, pray for our country.

When the Church is suffering, pray for the Church.

We don't have to carry the weight of the entire world ourselves.

We can bring it to Jesus.

Pray for the Person Everyone Else Has Given Up On

There are people whom the world considers beyond hope.

St. Thérèse teaches us never to make that judgment about someone's soul.

As long as someone is alive, we can pray for repentance and conversion.

Think about the person whose actions make you the angriest.

The politician you cannot stand.

The criminal whose story horrified you.

The person attacking the Faith.

The person responsible for terrible suffering.

What would happen if Catholics began offering Rosaries, Masses, sacrifices, and Holy Communions for their conversion?

Not because their actions don't matter.

But because their souls do.

Make It a Spiritual Habit

The next time you encounter terrible news, resist the temptation to spend the next hour reading comments, becoming angry, and repeating the story to everyone you know.

Stop.

Make the Sign of the Cross.

Pray a Hail Mary.

Or pray:

“Jesus, have mercy on the victims. Comfort their families. Protect the innocent. Bring justice where justice is needed. And through Your Precious Blood, obtain true repentance and conversion for those responsible. Do not allow hatred to enter my own heart. Amen.”

Then entrust the situation to God.

Perhaps This Is One of Our Jobs as Catholics

The world already has plenty of people willing to condemn, argue, and become consumed by anger.

It desperately needs people willing to pray.

Perhaps when God allows us to hear about a terrible situation, one question we should ask is:

“Have I prayed about this as much as I have talked about it?”

St. Thérèse could do nothing personally to change Pranzini's past.

But she could pray for what mattered most:

his soul.

And so can we.

Pray for Massachusetts.

Pray for America.

Pray for our leaders.

Pray for victims.

Pray for criminals.

Pray for those who hate the Church.

Pray for those who don't believe in God.

Pray especially for the person everyone else thinks is beyond saving.

Because sometimes the most Catholic response to terrible news is very simple:

“Jesus, convert them. Save their soul. And have mercy on us all.”

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, pray for the conversion of sinners.
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for our country.
Most Precious Blood of Jesus, save us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.