The Vatican Secret Archives, founded back in 1611 by Pope Paul V, are an ultra-secure repository for the Church's oldest and most valuable documents. Access to the archives has always been limited, even today only Vatican officials and scholars are allowed inside.
Moreover, you can get into the Vatican archives only with a letter of recommendation, and only a couple of people are allowed there a year. Moreover, scientists need to specify exactly what documents they need … And even so, they don't even know exactly what is inside the archives. And this situation causes a lot of misinterpretation. Today, there are at least 10 theories about what the Vatican is hiding in its archives.
1. Collection of porn
The Copenhagen Museum of Erotica claims the Vatican has the largest collection of porn in the world. Other notable personalities, including William F. Buckley Jr. and academician Camilla Paglia, confirm the same. As plausible as it sounds, there seems to be little truth in rumors like this. At least the Kinsey Institute did not find any "strawberries" when its scientists studied the Vatican archives on microfilms.
Others believe the Vatican is unlikely to make copies of all of its materials. And, even more unlikely, would give them access to the Kinsey Institute. In any case, a number of other eyewitnesses claim to have seen thousands of erotic volumes. Either way, the Vatican has a long tradition of erotic "art."
In the 16th century, for example, one of Raphael's students, Giulio Romano, was commissioned to decorate Cardinal Bibbien's bathroom with a series of 16 frescoes, each depicting a unique sexual pose in detail. Naturally, copies of these paintings leaked out and appeared in a book called Aretino's Poses.
Promotional video:
2. Lineage of Jesus
The idea that Jesus was married and had children became widespread thanks to Dan Brown, and with good reason. Practically nothing is known about the life of Christ between his childhood and the period when he passed 30 years, just a few years before his crucifixion. Naturally, it is possible that he started a family during this time, and this raises questions about the pedigree. According to some theorists, specific details of his pedigree are hidden in the archives of the Vatican.
After all, if anyone alive today turned out to be a direct descendant of Jesus Christ (and therefore God), the consequences for the Church would be enormous. At least the Pope would be useless. It's a compelling theory, but it's actually not that simple. Whatever information the Vatican may have about the early descendants of Christ, there would be too many of them (with each generation for 2 millennia, the genealogy would constantly “fork”) to trace them to the present day.
3. Gospel of Peace
In 1923, Academician and Bishop Edmond Bordeaux Zekeli found an ancient Aramaic manuscript on a shelf in a closed part of the archives. She, he said, contained the teachings of the Essenes, a Jewish mystical sect that lived completely cut off from society. The Essenes were mentioned by several ancient historians, including Philo, Pliny, and Joseph, and were known for their "communist" lifestyle.
But interestingly, the complete absence of any mention of them in the New Testament has led some to believe that they were in fact the ones who wrote it, and that Jesus himself was an Essene. There are many parallels between the two groups to support a similar theory, including the importance of baptism and prophecy, as well as a general emphasis on charity and goodwill.
The Essenes also showed an aversion to human sacrifice in the Old Testament style, preferring instead to sacrifice vegetables. This last point was of particular interest to Szekeli, who argued that the Essenes were vegetarians by the order of Christ. Unfortunately, no one has seen the manuscript yet.
It is also doubtful that Sekeli saw her too, since there are no records of his visit to the Archives. Also, given that the scientist was a rather radical vegetarian activist, most think that he did his best to make his beliefs "divine."
4. "Le Dragon Rouge"
The Grand Grimoire is one of the few items on this list that is known to actually exist, although who wrote it and when it happened is unknown. It may have been discovered in the tomb of King Solomon in 1750, or it may have been written much later. In any case, the grimoire is said to contain a ritual to summon Lucifugue Rofokale, Prime Minister of Hell, as well as other denizens of the underworld.
Apparently, the summoner must also give up his soul in this process, which 19th century occultist EE Waite said that only "a dangerous maniac or irresponsible criminal can lead him." Grimoires have been circulated throughout history, but none had as broad a knowledge of invocation as this one, which was considered "the most brutal in the world." The French translation of the grimoire "Le Dragon Rouge" made it to the Caribbean, where it is said to be still in use.
5. "Secrets of Fatima"
In 1917, three shepherd children from Fatima, Portugal had 3 prophetic visions of the Virgin Mary. Known as the Three Secrets of Fatima, the first and second dealt with the nature of Hell and the rise of communist Russia. Virgo argued that if her calls are not heard, then wars, famine, persecution and the spread of "Russia's mistakes" throughout the world are inevitable.
These first two secrets were published in 1941, but the secret of the third was kept silent. It is known to have been sealed in an envelope and given to the Bishop of Leiria, who placed it, unopened, in the Vatican Secret Archives. In 1959, the envelope was delivered to Pope John XXIII; however, after some discussion, he decided not to look inside.
It wasn't until 1965 that someone actually read the prophecy, and even then Pope Paul VI refused to make it public. Pope John Paul II also read it after the assassination attempt on him in 1981, but similarly continued the prophecy in secret. However, he immediately dedicated the Land to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, possibly hinting at the seriousness of its content.
Finally, in 2000, John Paul II said that the prophecy states that an apocalyptic battle between good and evil is about to happen, and the Pope would be the central figure of this battle. Now the description of the vision of the Portuguese child can be read on the Internet, but some refuse to believe that it is complete. Even Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 suggested that the real "Third Secret of Fatima" has not yet been revealed (although the Vatican denies this).
6. Extraterrestrial artifacts
While the Vatican may be focused on the past, it is actually quite progressive, at least when it comes to science and technology. In particular, the Vatican admits the possibility of extraterrestrial life, hosts conferences on astrobiology, and uses the Vatican Observatory to find planets like Earth. Presumably, the Church has known about alien civilizations for centuries.
Long before the Roswell incident, some people claim she was collecting UFO remains and artifacts, as well as technical documents to create "alien" weapons. While there is quite a bit of evidence to back up this claim, the purpose of the Vatican Archives has long been to hide knowledge the world is not ready for. For example, this is clearly seen in the concealment of the "Third Secret of Fatima".
Moreover, according to the theory of extraterrestrial cover-up, the Archives are not the only repository of this kind of knowledge. Presumably, the Great Pyramid of Giza served essentially the same function, hiding alien artifacts and startling revelations from the people of the ancient world. This, theorists claim, is the reason why Napoleon and Hitler headed for the pyramids after spending some time in the Vatican.
7. Chronovisor
Pellegrino's father Ernetti, who died in 1992, claimed to have seen the ancient Roman senator Cicero give a speech in 63 BC. And that was not the only thing he saw. He and his team, Ernetti claimed, saw Napoleon and his speeches, as well as Jesus at the Last Supper and even a crucifixion. Using a device called a chronovisor, they could view any historical event they wanted, just as if they were watching television.
According to Ernetti, the device was developed in collaboration with leading scientists Enrico Fermi (who developed the first nuclear reactor) and Werner von Braun (the first space rockets), and could not only display but also record images. In 1972, a "photograph of Christ" appeared in the Italian magazine La Domenica del Corriere. Ernetti also released a transcript of the lost piece Thyestes by Quinta Ennius in original Latin. Naturally, there were doubts.
The text of the play could hardly be verified, and the "photograph of Christ" was taken from a postcard with a plaster crucifix. But the photo had nothing to do with Ernetti, and he certainly never claimed it was real. The time viewer he created was not able to show details in close-up, as it was in the photograph. The real evidence, says Ernetti's friend François Brunet, was destroyed when Pope Pius XII and Benito Mussolini decided it posed a threat to society.
They especially feared that this meant the end of all secrets, be they political, economic, military or religious, not to mention personal secrets. Ernetti shut down the Chronovisor project and allegedly dismantled the device. However, as Brunet himself admits, it is possible that the Vatican is still using the original device.
8. "Smoke of Satan in the Temple of God"
As a senior exorcist at the Vatican, Gabriele Amort's father knew how to recognize demons. Before his death in 2016, he performed literally tens of thousands of exorcism rituals (modeled on Pope Paul V's 1614 ritual) and often spoke to the Devil. "Satan is a pure spirit," he told The Exorcist director William Friedkin, "although sometimes he appears as a raging animal."
Therefore, in 2010, everyone was shocked when Amorth said that Satan was hiding in the Vatican. Moreover, he did not speak figuratively at all. According to Amorth, the scandals and corruption that have gripped the Church in recent years are caused by the Devil. Even Pope Paul VI said something similar in 1972, regretting that "the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God from somewhere."
9. Jesus was not crucified …
The story of the crucifixion of Christ is at the core of Catholic doctrine. If we remove this story, then there will be just a "bunch" of meaningless symbols. However, according to Michael Bigent, nothing like this happened, at least it was not like the Bible says. Unlike some, Bigent does not deny that Jesus ever existed.
Moreover, he believes that the prophet probably lived long after his supposed death in 33 AD. Jesus supposedly escaped execution by making a deal with Pontius Pilate, the man who sentenced him to death. It was in Rome's interest to keep Jesus alive as he instructed his followers to pay the tax.
The best solution for all was a fake crucifix. Of course, Bigent has no evidence, but the psychologist says it does exist. Presumably, an important document was discovered by the French priest Berenger Sauniere at his church in Rennes-le-Chateau. Soon after, the documents disappeared, and Saunière suddenly became very rich. Bigent suggests that the Vatican bought the document from Sauniere, and also paid for the priest's silence.
10. Pope Pius XII helped Hitler
Pope Pius XII is commonly referred to as the "Hitler Pope" for supporting the Nazis. Although he never openly condemned them, the Vatican maintains that the Pope has always been against Nazism. According to the Vatican, Pius XII distributed brochures in Germany condemning Nazism from a Christian point of view, and also saved more than 800,000 Jews from extermination in Eastern Europe. Allegedly, his meetings with the German leadership did not in the least concern cooperation with Hitler.
In any case, from the Nazi point of view, Pius XII is said to have been a “Jewish loving enemy” whom the Germans wanted to kidnap and imprison in Liechtenstein. But is all this true or is it just a fake image of Pope Pius XII that the church wanted to create. The fact is that the Vatican has so far refused to publish important documents about its activities in the Holocaust era, and surviving eyewitnesses claim that the Pope definitely helped Hitler in his rise to power.
John Cornwell, a respected academic and Catholic, is one of the people who argue for the latter. Although he initially hoped to find evidence proving the Pope's "innocence" (this was the only reason he was allowed to view the documents), he instead found confirmation of the charges. The Pope not only hated Jews, associating them with filth and refusing to help them, but also deliberately undermined Catholic resistance to Hitler.
He also opposed blacks, calling them rapists and child abusers despite evidence to the contrary. It is clear that Pius XII had a lot in common with Hitler, not least because of his ideological commitment to absolute power and autocratic control. And worst of all, Cornwell says, Pius XII refused to speak out against Nazism even after the outbreak of the Holocaust.
