Papal myth
Sir: I am afraid that Guy Evans, (Letters, 28 November) is well within the realms of Papal fiction when it comes to any discus- sion of a supposedly female Pope or indeed the physical inspection of a newly elected one. Having studied for the priesthood in Rome, I can honestly say that I never found evidence of either. The myth of Pope Joan certainly exists though, and is dealt with rather well in J.N.D Kelly's Oxford Dictio- nary of Popes. Outlining examples of it, he can conclude; 'It scarcely needs painstaking refutation today, for not only is there no contemporary evidence for a female Pope for any of the dates suggested for her reign, but the known facts of the respective periods make it impos- sible to fit one in. Rather the kernel of the myth is generally taken to be an ancient Roman folk tale which was blown up by a number of circumstances needlessly taken to be suspicious.'
Whilst there has never been a woman on the Seat of Peter and probably never will be, one cannot deny, however, the influ- ence of certain women from time to time on the occupant of the Papal throne. In this generation, for example, the housekeeper of Pope Pius XII (1939-58), Sister Pasquali- na, wielded so much power in the Vatican that she was nicknamed 'La Papessa!', liter- ally 'the female Pope'.
Philip Smyth
Holy Rood Catholic Church, 2 Groundwell Road, Swindon,
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