Wordy Birds

Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini, The Secret Female Pope

Original airdate: August 15, 2008

A conversation with New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman on her incredible true book about the secret female pope.

From www.mistressofthevatican.com:

The widowed sister-in-law of the indecisive Pope Innocent X (reigned 1644-1655), Olimpia was presumed to be the pope’s mistress.  Regardless of whether she was mistress of the pope, she certainly was mistress of the Vatican, appointing cardinals, negotiating with foreign powers, and raking in immense sums from the papal treasury.  In a church that firmly excludes women from officiating as priests, and even from marrying priests, Olimpia’s story is clearly an uncomfortable one for the Vatican.

Women camped for days in front of her house, hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman who, contrary to all social norms, ran a pope, a church, and a nation.  Envied, admired, and despised, Olimpia was a baroque rock star, belting out her song loudly on a stage of epic exaggeration.  But by the end of the seventeenth century, with new popes and new hopes, the scandal of Olimpia, which had gripped all Europe, faded and disappeared.  Long forgotten now is her bittersweet tale of power, greed, and the glory of God.

From Eleanor Herman:

“History is so fascinating that it never has to be presented in a boring way. These were flesh and blood people, just like you and me, facing war and plague, falling in love, living among splendid art and gut-wrenching poverty.  Sometimes people ask me if I plan to write novels.  And I say, with all the things that really happened, who needs to make stuff up?”

Thanks for listening.

Liz

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Mistress of the Vatican: The True Story of Olimpia Maidalchini: The Secret Female Pope