THE NUNS OF SANT'AMBROGIO

The long-hidden story of the ultimate convent scandal, masterfully retold.

Accessing archival files first opened to the public by Pope John Paul II in 1998, Wolf (Ecclesiastical History/Univ. of Muenster) pieces together a mid-1800s inquisition trial of incendiary proportions. Set in the Roman convent of Sant’Ambrogio, the author lays out a perfect storm of scandal, involving heresy, decades of abuse, webs of sexual misconduct and murder. The story begins with a twice-widowed princess who, fulfilling a lifelong goal, entered the convent in 1858. Within less than a year, she escaped, fearing for her life. Her testimony began an investigation that would uncover the secret world of Sant’Ambrogio. Wolf’s narrative centers on Vincenzo Leone Sallua, the investigating judge who systematically uncovered and presented his case. He discovered that the nuns of the convent were venerating their founder as a saint, even though she had been condemned and exiled by Rome. Worse, their young novice mistress, Maria Luisa, was being treated as a living saint, credited with miraculous powers. Further investigations revealed generational repetition of lesbian rituals and sexual abuses, affairs with priests, embezzling of funds and murders to hush up troublesome nuns. In the end, the accused were punished, the nuns dispersed, the building razed, and even the graves of certain nuns removed. Sant’Ambrogio was to be wiped from history, and nearly was so, for well over a century. Wolf has expertly recovered and retold this scandalous tale in all its gory, as well as bureaucratic, detail. He also provides readers with ample background to comprehend the geopolitical and ecclesiastical tapestry against which this drama played out. However, modern readers are left wondering what lessons this story has to teach today. Is the tale of Sant’Ambrogio simply a titillation of history, or does it speak to deeper issues of the church? Wolf is largely silent on that count.

An eye-opening story of evil in a holy place.