mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Eleanor Herman
pope without a single sitting. When he presented the portrait to the
pope, Innocent took one look at it and cried, “Too true!” 5
It is, indeed, almost a photograph of Innocent in all his pontifical
majesty, sitting in a red velvet papal chair with gilded woodwork and
finials. He wears a frothy white knee-length rochet edged with lace, a
shining red satin mozzetta over his shoulders, and on his head the red
satin camauro. His small, suspicious eyes look critically at the viewer.
His brow is furrowed into a perturbed scowl. His lips are slightly pursed,
as if he is about to say something unpleasant. The background, perhaps
meant to represent a drape, appears unfinished, almost impressionistic,
angry swatches of red and black.
The month of May saw the arrival of another famous pilgrim. Princess
Maria of Savoy, great-aunt of the reigning duke, clattered into
Rome with impressive pageantry. The princess was a fifty-six-year-old
spinster and Capuchin lay nun—she lived the life of a nun but had
never taken a nun’s vows. She had, however, founded a convent in Turin
where she spent her days in prayer, penance, and good works. She and
her ladies wore enormous hoods and billowing coats of many wide folds
that made the Romans laugh. She was profoundly deaf and used a silver
ear horn to help her hear.
Princess Maria went first to visit the pope, to whom she gave a gorgeous
reproduction of the Shroud of Turin encrusted with jewels. Immediately
after her papal audience, she should have called on Olimpia
as first lady of Rome. But instead of going to the Piazza Navona, the
princess’s carriage rumbled straight to the Tor de’ Specchi Convent,
where she would be residing. And there she remained.
It was a huge snub to Olimpia because everyone in Rome knew the
princess had not visited her. But the devout Princess Maria had no intention
of calling on a woman who had been born a nobody and who, it was
thought, ruled Rome only because she was the pope’s mistress. At the convent,
Princess Maria’s bias against Olimpia was exacerbated by Sister Agatha,
who yelled into her ear horn the story of poor Camillo’s miserable
exile, the noble suffering of the pregnant princess of Rossano, and their
continued estrangement from the pope, all at Olimpia’s wicked instigation.
The princess stayed put, and Olimpia’s enemies roared with laughter.
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