Prague legends also remember moments when hatred, in the face of faith, transformed into deep repentance. One tells of a Jew who decided on the eve of the Easter holidays to desecrate the Christian church. He chose a truly unprecedented and tragic way—by the morning, he decided to hang himself directly from the handle of the main door of the Týn Church.

When a priest arriving for morning mass found him there early at dawn, he did not fall into anger or contempt, although the desecrator’s intention was clear. Instead of scolding, he folded his hands and offered a quiet, fervent prayer for the salvation of the soul that had strayed so terribly. At that moment, a miracle occurred that was told in the streets of the Old Town for generations.

The man, from whom life force had seemingly departed forever, suddenly opened his eyes and breathed into a new life. A feeling of deep shame and gratitude transformed him entirely. The legend says that soon after, the man left the faith of his fathers, was baptized, and became one of the most faithful and humble Christians in all of Prague, forever grateful for the grace granted to him at the doors of the sanctuary.