mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Eleanor Herman
a blue shield, and indeed, it was whispered that two days before Urban’s
election a swarm of bees had hovered over his cell in conclave, forming
themselves into the shape of a papal crown, surely an omen from the
Holy Spirit. The family coat of arms had previously been three horseflies,
but the rising family had had the good sense to change it. Bees, it
was known, were attracted to honey, the nectar of the gods. Horseflies
were attracted to manure, the nectar of horseflies.
At Naples, the Pamphilis waited for news of the conclave. Would the
new pope recall Gianbattista from his nunciature, replacing him with a
friend or relative as most popes did? The answer came quickly. Pope
Urban VIII was pleased with his nuncio’s work in Naples. Gianbattista—and
Olimpia—should continue.
After four years as nuncio to the kingdom of Naples, Gianbattista was
finally recalled to Rome in March 1625. Olimpia packed up her household
and made the dangerous trip back, unloading at the old house in
the Piazza Navona. It must have been a relief to be back in the relative
safety of Rome. Even better, Gianbattista’s recall involved not disgrace
but honor. The pope had chosen him for a special mission.
Urban VIII had three beloved nephews. The eldest, Francesco, he
made a cardinal in 1623 at the age of twenty-six, giving him the regal
position of cardinal nephew, a kind of secretary of state who was accorded
the honors of a sovereign. The second, Taddeo, would be the lay
head of the family and marry. The third, Antonio, would be made a
cardinal in 1627 at the age of twenty.
Cardinal Francesco Barberini was impatient to make his mark on
politics and diplomacy. He prodded his uncle to send him on a difficult
embassy to Paris. A dispute had arisen between France and Spain over
a small area known as the Valtellina in northern Italy. France had
ousted the neutral papal troops and replaced them with French troops,
with Spain howling in protest. The pope wanted his diplomats to convince
Louis XIII and his powerful prime minister, Cardinal Richelieu,
to remove the French troops.
But the pope realized that his nephew was still inexperienced for
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