A sordid tale of lesbian sex, murder and seduction in a Catholic
convent in 19th-century Rome has been discovered in a secret Vatican
archive.
The Sant'Ambrogio scandal involves a beautiful young
sister who convinced the nuns she was experiencing visions and visits
from heaven - then made them engage in rampant sexual activity.
Herbert
Wolf, a leading scholar of the Catholic Church, learned of the
Sant'Ambrogio scandal when he became one of the first allowed into the
archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Whistleblower: This portrait of Princess Katharina von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was painted in 1848, when she was 31
The Nuns of Sant'Ambrogio has been translated into
English. It tells the story of Princess Katharina (pictured here in
later life), who blew the whistle on the scandal in the convent
The
naughty nun also entered into an erotic relationship with a theologian
on the pretense he was possessed, and is thought to have murdered three
other sisters.
But when a German princess fled the convent in disgust, a sex scandal hidden behind a habit for many years was unveiled.
Wolf,
a professor of ecclesiastical history at University of Muenster,
Germany, made the discovery and has retold it in his book The Nuns of
Sant'Ambrogio.
Written in German, the controversial never-told-before tale has been translated into English for the first time.
Princess
Katharina von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen first visited Rome when she was
just 17 in 1834, where she embraced the Catholic faith in its strictest
form. The young liberal girl became a 'pious Catholic noblewoman'.
In
1858, having been widowed twice, the German aristocrat returned to the
religious city at the age of 41 and was clothed as a novice at
Sant'Ambrogio convent - home to women of all ages.
Interestingly, a recruitment drive by the stunning Maria had resulted in about 20 young women joining.
During
her 15-month stay, Katharina witnessed the nuns following a 'forbidden
cult' and also said she had noted a suspicious relationship between
Maria and a man named Peter Kreuzburg. This went on, she said, under the
pretext of trying to free him of a demonic possession.
Gustav Adolf zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (pictured) rescued his cousin Katharina from the convent of Sant’Ambrogio
Karl August, Count von Reisach, was a spiritual guide to
Katharina, who uncovered the tale of lesbian seduction in a 19th century
Roman convent
Sant'Ambrogio della Massima is in the street of the same name near the Fontana delle Tartarughe in Rome
The
princess read one letter from the man, addressed to Maria. It contained
erotic innuendos and 'extremely obscene expressions', asking the two
nuns to engage in sexual acts with him.
The princess also
witnessed Maria, the novice mistress, claiming sainthood and stating she
was capable of 'supernatural things' and possessed 'heavenly gifts'.
But raising doubts about the convent became dangerous and Katharina claimed that in an attempt to silence her, she was poisoned.
Despite
becoming gravely ill, she survived the attempted murder and wrote a
frantic letter to her cousin, Gustav Adolf zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst,
a confidant of Pope Pius IX, claiming that she was being abused and
feared for her life.
Just weeks after her escape, Katharina
contacted the Holy Tribunal of the Sanctum Officium, and made
allegations against the nuns.
A subsequent investigation by the Church’s Inquisition uncovered the secrets of Sant’Ambrogio and the illicit behavior inside.
Princess Katharina von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen first
visited Rome when she was just 17 in 1834, where she embraced the
Catholic faith in its strictest form
This painting hung in the Sant’Ambrogio, where the sex, seduction and murders took place
During
the investigation, Sister Agnese Eletta - who had been expelled from
the church - revealed that Maria had touched her to heal her and
because God had instructed her to do so.
A report of the
preliminary hearings presented to the Pope at the time revealed: 'The
novices had committed improper acts with the novice mistress, exchanging
intimacies and kisses.
'The night before professing their vows, lesbian initiation rites had taken place.
'The women had also indulged in physical lovemaking, up to and including intercourse.
Author: Herbert Wolf, a leading scholar of the Catholic
Church, learned of the nuns of Rome's Sant'Ambrogio scandal when he
became one of the first allowed into the archives of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith
'All this had happened under the pretense of heavenly sanctification.'
And
revealing her encounters with Maria, another nun, Maria Giacinta said:
'The unchaste acts were committed through touching with our hands,
bodies, and two or three times also using my tongue.
'She was the
most keen on touching our bodies together, which she called “giving",
and she asked me to lie in a certain position, with my legs raised,
while she “entwined” herself with me, as she called it.'
But it was not just women Maria got into bed with. She revealed a priest would 'dispense' blessings to her.
'He
began by laying his hands on my head, and then he blessed me in the
name of the Holy Trinity, the Madonna, and in his own name as my father
confessor and protector,' she said.
'Then he fell on his knees and
gave me an ardent kiss. Then he stretched out his right hand and at the
same time laid his face upon my breast, on the side where the heart
is.
'Then he kissed me on the mouth and on the face, and laid his
head on my throat, under my chin. He remained there as our faces
touched and he supported my face with his hands.
'He held me in a vehement embrace, and I remained lying on his breast for a while; sometimes he kissed me.'
But along with other others at the convent, Maria Luisa did get her comeuppance.
The
investigation found she had tried to kill another nun by giving her
enough opium to kill a horse. She was also thought to be responsible for
the deaths of three other sisters.
For crimes including the
poisoning and murder, she was sentenced to monastic imprisonment in
absolute isolation for 18 years. The convent was also dissolved.
In recent times the site has had various uses, including as a nightclub called Rialto Sant'Ambrogio.
Convent: During her 15-month stay, Katharina witnessed the
nuns following a forbidden cult and a suspicious relationship between
Maria and a man named Peter Kreuzburg, under the pretext of trying to
free him of a demonic possession
The princess also witnessed Maria claiming sainthood and
stating she was capable of 'supernatural things' and possessed 'heavenly
gifts' at the convent in Rome
The Archibo Segreto Vaticano,
the secret Vatican archive, had been open to researchers since 1881,
but the documents relating to the Roman Inquisition were not made
available until years later.
Pope John Paul II finally opened the
Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1998, and
Wolf was one of the first scholars to be allowed in.
He has been honored with the Leibnizpreis of the German Science prize, the Communicator Prize and the Gutenberg Prize.
Thanks
to Wolf's investigations, this shocking tale of debauchery, which was
hidden away more than 150 years ago, has been told for the very first
time.
convent in 19th-century Rome has been discovered in a secret Vatican
archive.
The Sant'Ambrogio scandal involves a beautiful young
sister who convinced the nuns she was experiencing visions and visits
from heaven - then made them engage in rampant sexual activity.
Herbert
Wolf, a leading scholar of the Catholic Church, learned of the
Sant'Ambrogio scandal when he became one of the first allowed into the
archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
English. It tells the story of Princess Katharina (pictured here in
later life), who blew the whistle on the scandal in the convent
naughty nun also entered into an erotic relationship with a theologian
on the pretense he was possessed, and is thought to have murdered three
other sisters.
But when a German princess fled the convent in disgust, a sex scandal hidden behind a habit for many years was unveiled.
Wolf,
a professor of ecclesiastical history at University of Muenster,
Germany, made the discovery and has retold it in his book The Nuns of
Sant'Ambrogio.
Written in German, the controversial never-told-before tale has been translated into English for the first time.
Princess
Katharina von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen first visited Rome when she was
just 17 in 1834, where she embraced the Catholic faith in its strictest
form. The young liberal girl became a 'pious Catholic noblewoman'.
In
1858, having been widowed twice, the German aristocrat returned to the
religious city at the age of 41 and was clothed as a novice at
Sant'Ambrogio convent - home to women of all ages.
Interestingly, a recruitment drive by the stunning Maria had resulted in about 20 young women joining.
During
her 15-month stay, Katharina witnessed the nuns following a 'forbidden
cult' and also said she had noted a suspicious relationship between
Maria and a man named Peter Kreuzburg. This went on, she said, under the
pretext of trying to free him of a demonic possession.
Katharina, who uncovered the tale of lesbian seduction in a 19th century
Roman convent
princess read one letter from the man, addressed to Maria. It contained
erotic innuendos and 'extremely obscene expressions', asking the two
nuns to engage in sexual acts with him.
The princess also
witnessed Maria, the novice mistress, claiming sainthood and stating she
was capable of 'supernatural things' and possessed 'heavenly gifts'.
But raising doubts about the convent became dangerous and Katharina claimed that in an attempt to silence her, she was poisoned.
Despite
becoming gravely ill, she survived the attempted murder and wrote a
frantic letter to her cousin, Gustav Adolf zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst,
a confidant of Pope Pius IX, claiming that she was being abused and
feared for her life.
Just weeks after her escape, Katharina
contacted the Holy Tribunal of the Sanctum Officium, and made
allegations against the nuns.
A subsequent investigation by the Church’s Inquisition uncovered the secrets of Sant’Ambrogio and the illicit behavior inside.
visited Rome when she was just 17 in 1834, where she embraced the
Catholic faith in its strictest form
the investigation, Sister Agnese Eletta - who had been expelled from
the church - revealed that Maria had touched her to heal her and
because God had instructed her to do so.
A report of the
preliminary hearings presented to the Pope at the time revealed: 'The
novices had committed improper acts with the novice mistress, exchanging
intimacies and kisses.
'The night before professing their vows, lesbian initiation rites had taken place.
'The women had also indulged in physical lovemaking, up to and including intercourse.
Church, learned of the nuns of Rome's Sant'Ambrogio scandal when he
became one of the first allowed into the archives of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith
And
revealing her encounters with Maria, another nun, Maria Giacinta said:
'The unchaste acts were committed through touching with our hands,
bodies, and two or three times also using my tongue.
'She was the
most keen on touching our bodies together, which she called “giving",
and she asked me to lie in a certain position, with my legs raised,
while she “entwined” herself with me, as she called it.'
But it was not just women Maria got into bed with. She revealed a priest would 'dispense' blessings to her.
'He
began by laying his hands on my head, and then he blessed me in the
name of the Holy Trinity, the Madonna, and in his own name as my father
confessor and protector,' she said.
'Then he fell on his knees and
gave me an ardent kiss. Then he stretched out his right hand and at the
same time laid his face upon my breast, on the side where the heart
is.
'Then he kissed me on the mouth and on the face, and laid his
head on my throat, under my chin. He remained there as our faces
touched and he supported my face with his hands.
'He held me in a vehement embrace, and I remained lying on his breast for a while; sometimes he kissed me.'
But along with other others at the convent, Maria Luisa did get her comeuppance.
The
investigation found she had tried to kill another nun by giving her
enough opium to kill a horse. She was also thought to be responsible for
the deaths of three other sisters.
For crimes including the
poisoning and murder, she was sentenced to monastic imprisonment in
absolute isolation for 18 years. The convent was also dissolved.
In recent times the site has had various uses, including as a nightclub called Rialto Sant'Ambrogio.
nuns following a forbidden cult and a suspicious relationship between
Maria and a man named Peter Kreuzburg, under the pretext of trying to
free him of a demonic possession
stating she was capable of 'supernatural things' and possessed 'heavenly
gifts' at the convent in Rome
the secret Vatican archive, had been open to researchers since 1881,
but the documents relating to the Roman Inquisition were not made
available until years later.
Pope John Paul II finally opened the
Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1998, and
Wolf was one of the first scholars to be allowed in.
He has been honored with the Leibnizpreis of the German Science prize, the Communicator Prize and the Gutenberg Prize.
Thanks
to Wolf's investigations, this shocking tale of debauchery, which was
hidden away more than 150 years ago, has been told for the very first
time.
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