February 19: Italy
This establishment by the Vatican, supported by forced Jewish taxation, had a sole purpose, to further-along identified potential converts from Judaism. A potential convert was subjected to 40 days of intense “instruction.” If he declined baptism after that time, he was allowed to return to his home – but few declined. Well over 3,000 Jews were converted in Rome alone via this modality before the ‘house’ was abolished in 1810. They set up similar ‘houses’ in a few cities in Italy.