mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Mistress of the Vatican
way up, as everyone did, he was never accused in any capacity whatsoever
of stealing money from the church, and his lifestyle had always
been abstemious. And so, when Innocent appointed a datary on his
very first day as pope, he chose the most honest man he knew. In March
1645, Innocent further rewarded Cecchini by bestowing on him the
cardinal’s hat.
Born in 1589, Cecchini exercised his functions with great rectitude,
accounting for every bajocco that came in or went out of the datary.
This was a problem for Olimpia, who like most papal relatives expected
a cut from datary transactions. Innocent would not live forever, and she
would need every penny to keep the family afloat and out of jail during
the next pontificate. She was losing huge amounts of money because of
Cecchini’s stubborn honesty.
Olimpia had another bone to pick with Cecchini. The cardinal lived
with a widowed sister-in-law, Clemenzia, a greedy, ambitious woman
who was said to have a tremendous influence over him. It was a situation
oddly similar to that of Olimpia and the pope, and in this case, too,
people whispered that the two were having an affair. Because the honorable
Cecchini did not accept outright bribes, the bribers went to Clemenzia
and loaded her with jewels and gifts, which she cheerfully
accepted. Everyone in Rome knew that Clemenzia influenced the datary
and Olimpia did not. Olimpia found that she was losing power and
money by Cecchini’s honesty and Clemenzia’s greed.
Having studied Olimpia’s career path, Clemenzia had become a kind
of mini-Olimpia and hoped to wheel and deal her brother-in-law onto
the papal throne in the next conclave. He was, after all, an important
and highly respected cardinal, and in 1647 he was fifty-eight, just two
years shy of the papabile age of sixty. But Clemenzia was not so clever by
half as Olimpia, who had studied human nature for decades and worked
subtly.
The brash Clemenzia made fatal mistakes. She did not court the first
lady of Rome. She did not offer to share her commissions, gifts, and
bribes with her. Instead, she tried to upstage her at every opportunity. If
Olimpia trotted around town in an elegant new coach and six, Clemenzia
bought a more luxurious one. If Olimpia gave a party, Clemenzia
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