The Vatican City. It may be a small nation – the smallest
in the world, in fact – but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in intrigue. The setting for Angels and Demons, it’s
a country that has inspired countless conspiracy theories, horror stories, and thrillers. And right at its heart lie a collection of
archives that are up to twelve centuries old and contain some of history’s best-kept
secrets. Along 50 miles of shelves, you can find letters
from some of the most prominent historical figures and texts that hold details of deep
dark secrets, modern scandals, and ancient mysteries. Everything from the existence of aliens to
the actions of the Illuminati is rumored to be held inside these old, dusty files. It’s not hard to see why journalists, scholars,
and even members of the public have been scrambling to get their hands on the documents for centuries
– and now, finally, they can. As of the second of March 2020, the files
have been released into the public domain. So, what lies inside? Let’s turn to one of the most infamous scandals
of all. It’s 1939 in Vatican City: you’re in the
midst of Mussolini’s reign over Italy, a fascist dictator consolidating his power by
constructing a cult of personality and police state whilst trying to rebuild Italy’s empire
and persecuting minorities. But on the plus side, he’s just signed a
treaty to recognize the independence of Vatican City – you win some, you lose some. As if the drastic change in the political
landscape within Italy wasn’t enough, big changes are happening all over the continent. A man called Adolf Hitler has recently risen
to power in Germany and began his own totalitarian dictatorship – he’s said to be inspired
by Mussolini in many ways due to the similarity in their ideologies. Hitler has now invaded Poland: a bold, aggressive
move that leads to the persecution of Polish Jews. A few years later, the fascist dictator spreads
his web of terror further and sets his sights on closer to you, in Italy. Jews are taken from homes in Rome itself and
held close to the Vatican, doomed to be sent to Auschwitz in the near future. It’s a desperately sad situation and many
are fearful. But you can’t lose hope yet. There’s one man who might be able to solve
the problem and save the Jews, at least within Italy. It’s not a bird, or a plane: it’s Pope
Pius XII, the head of the Catholic Church since 1939. The Pope has always commanded a huge amount
of respect and influence across the globe, and he’s also the head of a now-sovereign
nation, the Vatican City. If anyone could sway public opinion away from
Hitler or even reason with the man, it would be the Pope, and he should at least be able
to save Jews within his own territory from persecution. The Vatican City has remained neutral in World
War Two – after all, with a population of just a few hundred people, their involvement
would have been marginal, and the bombing of such a hugely historically important site
as St Peter’s Square and Basilica was too much to risk. But still, the Pope could have publicly condemned
the actions of the Nazis, privately asked Hitler to spare the people of Rome, or even
made an order himself for the Jews held nearby to be released. Surely the leader of a religion preaching
tolerance, forgiveness, and loving thy neighbor would do everything in his power to protect
those in danger? Instead, he did and said … nothing. It’s a moment in history that has never
been forgotten and which continues to divide Catholics. Some condemn Pope Pius XII for his actions
– or lack of actions – and see him as complicit in the persecution that took place
in the hands of Mussolini and Hitler. By saying nothing, he allowed many people
to die. Yet others believe he’s innocent, carried
out his duty effectively, and should be chosen for sainthood. How can we reconcile such contrasting opinions? Well, it comes down to the fact that there’s
no cold, hard proof. Nobody really knows what happened behind closed
doors all those years ago. Sure, we know that the Pope chose not to intervene
or speak out against Mussolini or Hitler publicly when, in retrospect, he probably, definitely,
should have. We could say that he was scared of causing
more harm than good and saw it as his duty to protect the sacred history of Vatican City
– but even once the war had finished, he still didn’t speak out against the treatment
of the Jews. He even went as far as helping Fascist war
criminals to escape the country. So, the case that Pope Pius XII was really
a saint is a tricky one to make. But we still don’t know. When it comes to the true motives of the Catholic
Church and the extent to which the Pope conspired with Mussolini and Hitler rather than simply
tolerating them, the truth remains a mystery. Does that mean there’s no way we’ll ever
find out? Of course not, don’t be silly – the information
is there, but guess where it is? Locked and shut away in the infamous Vatican
Secret Archives, now known as the Vatican Apostolic Archives. But you just said the archives have been made
public now, I hear you protest. Well, it’s not quite that simple. Remember, there are 50 miles of shelves down
there and who knows how many pages. It’s going to take quite some getting through,
even for the most prepared and knowledgeable scholars. Even though the information has only just
become available to members of the riff-raff like you and I, select researchers have had
access since 1881. Yes, that’s right, 1881 – and we’re
still trying to work out what happened during World War II. This is because access wasn’t made easy. You can’t just be any old history student
claiming they need information for a thesis about how the Pope reacted to Hitler – only
the most serious of scholars are granted access. Even for those who were given permission,
only three documents per day could be requested. You can’t just browse – you need to know
what you want. Plus, everything is written in either Italian
or Latin – not the most widely spoken languages. We did manage to uncover some information
in this period, though. One historian found that the Pope and Mussolini
made deals together to protect the church in exchange for the Pope’s silence regarding
anti-Semitism. However, the truth about the Nazis remains
swept under the rug. So, what’s changed now? Access is now available to anyone who wants
it rather than a select few. But there are still limits on how much you
can read each day, as well as considerable barriers of not understanding the language
the texts are written in or not knowing where on earth the information you need actually
is. There are many millions of texts, all categorized
in a confusing way – there’s no library computer system telling you that ‘letters
between the Pope and Mussolini’ are stored in section B12. And that’s assuming that the information
you want is actually in the Vatican Archives in the first place, anyway. Some of the most important texts may be stashed
away in alternative archives, like the Jesuit archives or vicariate archives. Others seem to have mysteriously disappeared,
never to see the light of day. Basically, don’t get your hopes up that
a tell-all documentary is going to be in the making by next month. But the powers-that-be have already turned
defensive. The Italian press have started to cover more
articles on the topic, seemingly rewriting history. These include claims that the Pope was so
democratic that Mussolini tried to prevent him gaining power, or that the Pope did in
fact save Roman Jews and stop Hitler invading the Vatican. As you might expect, the stories are notably
vague in their claims. You might think it’s all sounding a bit
fishy, like something really big is being covered up. Surely the archives will reveal something
slightly juicier than the Pope’s efforts to help. Since when has any covered-up information
about a government or authority figure ever been positive? It doesn’t exactly help that the guy in
charge of managing the archives is also acting somewhat sheepishly. Named Bishop Sergio Pegano, he’s previously
been reluctant to do a big reveal of the documents, as has the Pope. In the build-up to their release into the
public, he’s said he understands the expectations of the documents from certain groups are high
and that this is an important issue. Well, duh. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see. Of course, there’s more to the Vatican Secret
Archives than just Hitler, Mussolini, and Pope Pius XII. Their history spans 12 centuries, not just
a few decades. Some speculate they may contain magical texts. I can hear you groaning – yes, chances are
this probably isn’t real, but humor me anyway. The Vatican Secret Archives are said to hold
a book called the Grand Grimoire, which contains instructions for summoning Satan. You heard me – for summoning Satan. A grimoire is a book used for all kinds of
magic, including creating amulets and talismans, casting spells, and summoning supernatural
beings. The Grand Grimoire, as you might expect, is
believed to be the most powerful in existence, as it contains information about making a
pact with the devil himself. Going from ultimate evil to divine good, the
archives may also contain information about the most important historical figure related
to the Catholic Church: Jesus Christ himself. Some believe the archives could contain top-secret
information about whether the master miracle maker himself genuinely exists and if he has
descendants alive now – there was said to be correspondence between Saint Paul and Emperor
Nero on this topic. Even more scandalously, there could even be
truth that Jesus doesn’t actually exist. Juicy. If there is any proof that Jesus doesn’t
actually exist, it’s unlikely it would be made available to the public that easily,
but you never know. If this is all getting a bit too crazy for
you, you definitely won’t be ready for this next one. The archives may contain information about
whether alien life forms exist. Why would the Catholic Church know anything
about that, you might be asking yourself? Well, I’m not too sure either, but conspiracy
theorists believe that the Catholics may be hiding knowledge about extraterrestrial skulls
or that the Pope is currently in communication with aliens. Well, that would certainly push any communication
with Hitler to the sidelines. Another secret that the contents of the archives
could get to the bottom of is the Third Secret of Fatima. You may have heard the famous story before,
which goes that three Portuguese children received visions and prophecies from the Virgin
Mary in 1917, and were each visited regularly over the period of a few months. The children were told three secrets, which
they were instructed to pass on to a bishop, but one of the children hesitated to tell
the illusive third secret, believing God had told her not to. She instead sealed the secret away to be opened
in 1960 – Pope John Paul II released the secret to the public back in 2000, but many
don’t believe it’s the actual or full secret. Instead, they suspect the secret could be
something as drastic as the abandonment of the papacy or an apocalypse. No discussion about conspiracy theories would
be complete without a mention of the Illuminati, and sure enough, many believe that the Illuminati
have had an influence on the archives. They may even control the archives themselves. Therefore, there are sure to be some documents
inside verifying the role freemasons have played in this ancient institution. If that wasn’t strange enough, some believe
the archives contain information about a mysterious machine called the Chronovisor which lets
users view past and present events. Kind of like a high-tech crystal ball. Father Pellegrino Maria Ernetti supposedly
built the machine to record Christ’s crucifixion. However, no details or evidence have ever
come out, funnily enough. If you ask me, that’s a little far-fetched,
but there’s no use keeping it real at this point. Also, porn. The Copenhagen Museum of Erotica claims that
the Vatican has the largest collection of erotica in the world, which various others
scholars have also claimed. There are also some documents that you might
have an easier time believing are inside the archives. A letter sent by none other than Michelangelo
to Pope Julius II. Documents to split territories between Spain
and Portugal. A petition sent from Henry VIII requesting
his annulment of marriage from Catherine of Aragon in 1530, leading to the creation of
the Church of England. Notes relating to the trial against Galileo
in 1633. A papal bull to excommunicate Martin Luther. A letter from Mary Queen of Scots asking for
help in stopping her execution. And want to know the biggest secret of all? The archives are only known as being secret
because of a bad translation. Although the archives are known as ‘Archivum
Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum’ the secretum part doesn’t actually mean secret, it means
personal or private. Nonetheless, they clearly are quite secret
if they’ve been out of the public eye for this long, so it’s all just semantics. To find out more mysteries of the Pope and
the Vatican, check out our videos about the most evil pope in history or how much power
the Vatican has.
