Eternal Life;Cursed Gift

72

At the end of the summer of 1613, the twenty-two-year-old Istvan arrived in Rome. He had already become quite accustomed to his clergy and felt very comfortable in a cassock and a traditional Jesuit square cap.

Father Paul provided him with a letter of recommendation to Cardinal Fabrizio Veralli, trustee of the Pontifical Gregorian University, known in the old manner as the College of Rome.

On the very first evening, Istvan went to the Cardinal's Palace on Holy Trinity Street. The majestic square building of light stone was striking in its size. The central arch led into the courtyard, from where the colonnade of the opposite wall was visible through the lush greenery.

His Eminence received Istvan without delay. He sat in a huge, richly decorated office, arranged in a modern way. Instead of cold stone, soft silk on the walls, instead of tapestries, there are portraits in heavy bronze frames, and the high ceiling is painted with scenes from the Bible.

The owner of the study sat in a re