History of monastic fornication The sex scandals of the Renaissance
The monastery has always been a symbol of Catholic holiness and celibacy, but a number of scandals in history have cast doubt on these beliefs. Among them, the scandal of the monastery of Maria Agnes Firao in Rome is particularly shocking.
Here, the nuns undergo an initiation ceremony of at least three people before joining, but this does not stop their depravity. By the 50s of the 19th century, Sister Maria Luisa began to force other nuns to engage in fornicatory trysts with herself, and forged letters from the Virgin Mary, even threatening anyone who questioned her ways.
The truth of the case was buried in the Vatican archives for decades, until scholar Hubert Wolf exposed the scandal in his book The Nuns of Sant'Ambrogio.
What is even more shocking, however, is the price these nuns pay for hiding their secrets. The new abbot ordered the nun to sleep with her.
In the 50s of the 19th century, Firao, the founder of the Convent of Sant'Ambrogio, was stripped of his abbot after being accused of using his religious beliefs to manipulate other nuns.
Subsequently, Maria Luisa took over her position, however, she also continued to carry out the same dating activities as her predecessor, even claiming that they could ** disease.
During the initiation ceremony, she also asked the newly joined nuns to have intimate physical contact with her. In addition, Filao had a triangular relationship with a priest and a nun.
Although she had been a spiritual advisor to Pope Leo XII, Filao was in trouble when her misdeeds were revealed. In addition to having an affair with her confessor, she also had an improper tryst with the confessor and another nun.
She also performed a false miracle and had two abortions while impregnated by the clergy. In 1816, Firao was stripped of her abbotship, but the monastery she founded was not closed by the Inquisition.
Behind the scenes, illegal activities continue, including the forgery of letters from the Virgin Mary.
Sister Maria Luisa had an illicit relationship with one of the Jesuit confession priests of the convent and deceived the confessors with a forged letter from the Virgin Mary**. A new nun named Maria Francesca helped Maria Luisa to write the Holy Letter, and the convent obeyed the "Holy Order".
One of the confessors of Sant'Ambrogio hid a secret that he lived in this society under a false name, in fact Joseph Krugan, an adviser to the pope and a famous theologian.
He had an affair with a nun and confessed that he had had multiple physical contacts with Maria Luisa during the Inquisition trial. Although he confessed, he was only lightly punished, ordered to be locked up in a Jesuit house for two years, and deprived of any rights in the convent.
This incident exposed the chaos and immorality within the monastery.
Maria Luisa introduced the new nuns to a number of unconventional practices, including sexual initiation. She told the nuns that she had divine blessings in her body that could only be shared with everyone when she reached her climax.
However, during the trial, Maria Luisa confessed that Firao, the founder of the Order, had passed on his "magic wine" to her and the other new nuns in a similar way.
And those nuns who do not cooperate with the ritual will mysteriously fall ill and die. It was not until Princess Catarina escaped from the convent that Maria Luisa's crimes were revealed.
Princess Katarina von Hohenzollern Simmaringen had a painful time at the age of 36. Although she was widowed twice in the country, she eventually found an outlet for self-redemption - she came to the convent of San Ambrogio in Rome, determined to become a nun.
However, in the process, she discovers some very suspicious behavior within the monastery, which deeply disturbs her. So, she decided to take action and hid a mysterious letter that only said "Help me".
After discovering the abnormal behavior and malicious control of the dean, the princess is convinced that she is being threatened by **. She participated in a "Jesuit Blessing" of a ** nature, and at the Inquisition trial, Maria Luisa was accused of participating in lesbian parties, worshipping false saints, and.
However, one crime in the trial was particularly striking: Maria Luisa participated in a secret ritual - the "Jesuit Blessing", which was in fact a rite of a ** nature, handed down by the founder of the monastery, Maria Agnes Firao, including French kissing, among others.
One witness said the male confessor "drew a cross on her throat with his tongue, and sometimes he put his tongue into the "mouths" of other confessors and kissed her heart. ”
While receiving the "blessing", the nuns sometimes fall into a state of ecstasy, kneeling before the penitent. Maria Luisa even caused the princess to swallow mercury and glass powder, which made her suffer greatly.
The tragic fate of the German princess Catarina: she was imprisoned and tortured by Maria Luisa, leaving her in danger. However, Princess Katarina managed to escape with the help of her cousin, but she was already seriously ill and refused to accept any **.
The founder, Sister Maria Agnes, was famous for wearing an iron mask, and she claimed to be a living saint, but her stigmata was of her own making.
The secrets of the monastery were hidden for more than 100 years, until the Inquisition tried her and she was found guilty. Although the monastery of Firao managed to keep an open mind, the Inquisition may have been looking for an excuse to close it.
This tragic story makes us think deeply about the dark side of human nature and the abuse of power.
Despite the Inquisition's trials, Sant'Ambrogio's secrets remained deeply buried. It is said that Pope Pius IX feared that the confession of the nuns' fornication and **conspiracy would cause**, and as a result, the monastery was secretly closed and Maria Luisa was sentenced to 20 years in the convent.
However, despite her attempts to find her spiritual sustenance in Rome, Princess Catarina was never able to do so, and eventually she returned to Germany and invested her wealth in a monastery called Beuron.
The Pope seems to have been doing his best to cover up the scandal.
Pope Pius IX, upon learning of Princess Catarina's denunciation, intervened in the case, although he was also involved in the cover-up of the entire scandal. Pius IX feared that the incident, which took place in a Roman monastery not far from the Vatican, could damage the reputation of his ally.
Thus, the case was not tried in public, but was submitted to the Holy Office of the Roman Inquisition. When the trial revealed what happened to the lesbians and the attempt, the Inquisition quickly tried to cover up the entire scandal.
The monastery was closed, and the abbot was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while the men involved were each sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Secret documents from the Vatican archives reveal the scandal.
For the past few decades, the Catholic Church has tried to cover up the scandal of San Ambrocho. These secrets were buried deep in the documents of the Inquisition and were inaccessible to the public.
However, that all began to change as scholars looked further, in particular the discovery of a document that exposed the scandal of Maria Luisa. Hubert Wolff, professor of history at the University of Münster, was one of the first to gain access to these once-secret archives of the Inquisition, and he found the hidden St. Ambrocho scandal in the depths of the Vatican records.
In her 2015 book, Sister Santa Ambrogio: The True Story of the Convent of Scandal, Wolf details Maria Luisa, Filao, and their illegal actions.
The nuns worshipped a false saint, which shocked people by their actions.
Although this pales in comparison to sexual misconduct and attempted confessions, the nuns of St. Ambrogio were also punished for insisting on the holiness of false saints.
and St. Ambrogio (Sant, who was called a false saint by the Roman Inquisition'María Agnes Firao, founder of Ambrogio, was revered behind the walls of the monastery.
Princess Catarina was horrified when she learned of this improper worship. "They showed me their flogging and other punishments, and told me that after one flogging, three pounds of raw flesh would fall from the Virgin.
They made no secret of Sister Agnes' holiness, and did not even blush when she announced it, and her practice surpassed that of many saints. "The nuns were full of contempt for the Inquisition.
Since Sant Ambrogio's case involved the Inquisition, it was only natural that the monastery was targeted at that time. The nuns of the Abbey of Sant'Ambrogio spoke out against the Inquisition.
Despite the fact that the founder of the convent, María Agnes Firao, was convicted of false holiness by the Catholic Institution, the nuns remained convinced that Agnes Firao was a saint within the Monastery of Sant'Ambrogio.
They collected and cherished relics such as her clothing, embroidery, and images, and even called her "their consolation, their wealth, their brightest star".