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Lesbian Sex, Seduction and Murder... by Nuns in a Catholic Convent: Incredible Tale of Debauchery That Was Exposed by a Princess Whistleblower Is Unearthed in Secret Vatican Archive

By Jenny Stanton
Daily Mail
January 16, 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2913270/Lesbian-sex-seduction-murder-NUNS-Catholic-convent-Incredible-tale-debauchery-exposed-princess-secret-Vatican-archive.html

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 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-Schillingsfurst (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-Schillingsfurst, 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.

 

 

 

 

 




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