Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s longtime chief exorcist, claimed to have performed over 100,000 exorcisms during his 60-year service. Exorcism remains an active Catholic practice, with global priests attending annual Vatican training workshops.
Fascinating Vatican secrets and mysteries
Dark secrets about the Vatican
Go beyond the “known” secrets of the Vatican
Vatican myths and legends
| Myth/legend | What it’s about | Debunked? | Vatican link | Best tours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Secret archives of apocalyptic prophecies | Belief that locked vaults hide catastrophic world-ending documents. | Debunked — “Secretum” means private, not hidden prophecy vault. | Borgia Apartments; Gallery of Maps | Vatican Museums Tour |
Hidden pagan symbols in Vatican art | Theory that Vatican artworks conceal Roman gods and pagan motifs. | Misread — Renaissance artists reused classical allegories openly. | Pio-Clementino Museum; Egyptian Collection | Vatican Museums Tour |
Michelangelo’s coded messages in the Sistine Chapel | Claims of anatomical symbols and secret critiques in the frescoes. | Unproven — intriguing patterns but no historical evidence. | Sistine Chapel | Early Morning Vatican Tour |
The “secret” necropolis under St. Peter’s | Rumor of a hidden pagan city buried beneath the Basilica. | Real but not secret — excavated and documented since 1940s. | St. Peter’s Basilica; Papal Tombs | St. Peter’s Basilica Tour |
Castel Gandolfo’s mysterious papal experiments | Stories of secret scientific projects at the papal summer residence. | Unproven — no systematic investigation to prove or refute the claims. | Apostolic Palace; Vatican Gardens | Vatican + Castel Gondolfo |
