Sister Vincenza Taffarel (died 1984) was the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

who found the body of

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...

. She was brought in as his housekeeper in one of his very first papal acts, and was the first to find him dead. Sister Vincenza was portrayed by Maroussia Frank in ''

The Last Confession ''The Last Confession'' is a stage play by Roger Crane about the election and death of Pope John Paul I. The play follows Giovanni Benelli who recounts, during his last confession, his role in the death of John Paul and how this led him to los ...

'', a play by

Roger Crane Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

Controversy

There have been several differing reports on details surrounding the discovery of the pope's death. These views have resulted in several

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

in which Sister Vincenza plays a role. When the report of death was first made, the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

excluded her from the official reports to avoid possible perceptions of unseemliness resulting from a woman's being in the

papal apartments The papal apartments is the non-official designation for the collection of apartments, which are private, state, and religious, that wrap around a courtyard (the Courtyard of Sixtus V, ''Cortile di Sisto V'') on two sides of the third (top) floo ...

early in the morning. There has also been confusion over alleged changes in her story. Sister Vincenza told French reporters the morning after the death that she had discovered the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

's body in the bathroom at 4:45 am. She had entered the room after he had not retrieved his morning coffee that she had left outside his door. Later, it was claimed, she was sworn to secrecy about the event by

Cardinal Jean Villot Jean-Marie Villot (11 October 1905 – 9 March 1979) was a French prelate and Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Lyon from 1965 to 1967, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1967 to 1969, Vatican Secre ...

, before being sent to a

nunnery A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taffarel, Vincenza 20th-century Roman Catholic nuns 1984 deaths Year of birth missing