The Vatican in Rome has always had its own share of mysteries. In some instances, you could say “What goes on in the Vatican, stays in the Vatican.” There have been plenty of questions raised over recent decades to which the answers have been silent or bland. This has been pretty much the case for nearly 2,000 years. But, one of the aspects that has remained constant is that the pope has always been male. Or has it?
Over the centuries there has been a story going around that says that one pope was actually a woman and she is known as Pope Joan. It is important to state straightaway that the Vatican has refuted these claims consistently since 1601 when Pope Clement VIII declared that the whole thing was a myth. Admittedly, there is not a lot of evidence but the story has endured and that is what we will discuss.
The story goes that “Joan” or “Johanna” was an educated and religious woman who apparently had disguised herself as a man. Over time, she moved up the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church until in 853 CE, she was elected pope. She is alleged to have held the post of papacy for two years before kind of giving the game away by having a baby. There are versions which say she gave birth whilst riding a horse, but let’s not go there.
Obviously, if any of this is true, then she immediately lost her job. But what do we think happened to her? Once again there are several theories. One is that she was killed by a mob whilst the other is a little less bloodthirsty. It is said that she repented her “sins” and spent the rest of her life living in obscurity.
There have been references to her over the years including the thirteenth century, when it is said a book was discovered with a reference to her. The book was produced in the ninth century and the text about Pope Joan was only in the form of a footnote. Therefore, it is said that it could have been added much later. It would be interesting to know if this book still exists, perhaps within the Vatican Library.
So, whether there is any truth to this story, it has produced another legend which is connected. This involves a way of checking if a new pope is really male. It comes in the form of a marble chair with a seat resembling a toilet seat. As part of the enthronement of a pope, it is rumoured that in the past, after Pope Joan, the new pope sat on this seat naked from the waist down. It is then said that the cardinals would pass by either checking visually he had what was necessary in their view, to be male or they would give his testes a quick feel to see if they were real. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t take the job if it was offered to me on a toilet seat! Needless to say, the chair, if it ever existed, is not around now. Or if it is, it is hidden somewhere in the Vatican where the sun does not shine.
John Pullen 