20 attendance spoke against the approval. As tradition would have it, an intervention from heaven eventually prevailed over their decision in this matter. That very same night, the chancellor of the Apostolic Dataria (one of the main pontifical offices, no longer in existence), Cardinal J. B. Ferraro, Bishop of Modena, who was greatly influential with the College of Cardinals, allegedly had a dream, in which the Lord God reproached him for refusing to approve the new Order. In that dream the cardinal saw St. Lawrence the Deacon and St. Francis of Assisi extending their arms over Bl. Gabriel Maria in a gesture of blessing. To the cardinal, their countenance seemed to say that this humble religious was an instrument of God. Then, still in his dream, the cardinal saw with new eyes the grandeur of Mary in her mystery of the Annunciation, which made him feel obliged to found a new Order dedicated to the honor of this mystery. He awoke under a very strong impression from this dream, reproving himself for resisting the Divine cause. After a prayer and a fresh consideration of the matter, he called Fr. Gabriel to himself and recounted his nighttime experience. He then went to the Pope and asked him to approve the new Order. Indeed, he was successful in convincing Alexander VI and the cardinals. On February 12, 1502, Pope Alexander VI ratified the new Rule and the new Order. After giving
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