When the nun awoke from her terrifying demonic state, she was drenched in ink. She lowered her head. During the night, she received a strange letter in her room. What did it say, exactly? What was the source of the message? She had no idea. Despite this, the letter was covered in mysterious symbols, which could only lead to one conclusion. Yes, Satan himself penned the message… But no one has been able to decipher the mysterious letter in the 340 years since it first appeared – until now.
A Scary Letter From A Possessed Nun In 1676 Has Finally Been Translated
Sister Maria Crocifissa della Concezione
Sister Maria Crocifissa della Concezione was the nun in this story. She’d sought spiritual solace on the island of Sicily, a land steeped in Christian tradition. In fact, it is said that Saint Paul the Apostle preached there nearly 2,000 years ago. But arguably, where there is Christ, there is also Satan. Sister Maria appeared to be struggling with both.
Sister Maria Crocifissa Della Concezione
Not In Peace
At the age of 15, Sister Maria entered a Benedictine convent in Sicily. She learned the Benedictine order of work, peace, and prayer there. Sister Maria, despite her devotion, did not appear to be at ease. She claimed that she was possessed by the Devil himself. This would eventually lead to the eerie letter, which was riddled with foreboding symbols.
Not In Peace
A Vessel Of Hell
Sister Maria appeared to be a vessel for Hellish torment, whether or not the Devil exists. She was said to shriek and lose consciousness when approaching the convent altar, for example. The nun appeared to be torn between good and evil as if she believed Satan was attempting to turn her to evil. Then there was the letter.
A Vessel Of Hell
Possessed
Yes, the Devil took control of the nun’s body one day in 1676, according to her, and wrote a diabolical message. The note was written in an unfamiliar language and did not even have a recognizable alphabet. On the other hand, its mysterious glyphs appeared to be a jumble of out-of-date letters and occult symbols. And figuring out what it all meant would take 340 years.
Possessed
Not The First
It wasn’t the first time Satan had apparently paid a visit to a convent, which is perhaps surprising. A group of 17 nuns was imprisoned within the walls of an Ursuline convent in Loudun, France, in 1632, just six months after the outbreak of a devastating plague epidemic. Then they began to act in an irrational manner. Several nuns even claimed to have had visions.
Not The First
A Shocking Conclusion
The women then began to behave in strange and inexplicable ways. They cursed, shouted, and even barked, attracting a sizable crowd of onlookers. The convent chaplain claimed that Satan had possessed the nuns. Faced with such a storm, church officials launched an investigation… and came to a shocking conclusion.
A Shocking Conclusion
The Man Responsible
According to the findings, the shocking scenes at the convent were caused by local holy man Father Urbain Grandier. Grandier was said to be a dangerous sorcerer who had made a diabolical deal with Lucifer, cast dark spells, and summoned evil spirits that had possessed the Ursuline nuns. A trial took place in 1634, and the cleric was found guilty. His punishment was also suitably gruesome.
The Man Responsible
The Sentence
Grandier’s sentence reads, “We have ordered… Urbain Grandier duly tried and convicted of the crimes of magic, maleficia and of causing demoniacal possession of several Ursuline nuns… He is to be taken to the public square… and fastened to a stake on a scaffold… and there be burned alive… and his ashes scattered to the wind.” However, Grandier’s execution had no effect on subsequent reports of possessions.
The Sentence
A Cryptic Letter
Sister Maria Crocifissa della Concezione’s letter, however, was so cryptic that it was unreadable. On the other hand, her fellow nuns took her claims seriously and put the item on public display. Many code-breakers attempted to crack the allegedly Satanic language over the centuries. But it wasn’t until 2017 that real progress was made.
A Cryptic Letter
Breaking The Code
Yes, in that year, a group of computer scientists from Catania’s LUDUM Science Center cracked the code. The privately funded institution, which was founded in 1969, usually collaborates with educational and research organizations. In this case, however, the group visited some shady locations in the name of uncovering the truth.
Breaking The Code
How They Did It
In fact, it was only with the help of a powerful – and highly controlled – decryption program that the scientists were able to decipher Sister Maria’s letter. Governments use this software, and it doesn’t appear to be widely available. The team had to get it from the dark web, which is a hidden section of the internet that should be avoided at all costs. So, what motivated them to do this?
How They Did It
A Skilled Linguist
Sister Maria may have created the code by combining existing alphabets, according to the scientists. Thanks to her years of exposure to religious scripture, the nun had also been a skilled linguist with knowledge of both ancient and modern languages. As it turns out, the experts’ theory was correct.
A Skilled Linguist
The Key
The team’s leader, Daniele Abate, told the British newspaper The Times in 2017. “We heard about the software, which we believe is used by intelligence services for code-breaking. We primed the software with ancient Greek, Arabic, the Runic alphabet and Latin to unscramble some of the letters and show that it really is devilish.” The software turned to be the key to understanding the letter.
The Key
Heretical Statements
Although much of the note was muddled and incoherent, the team was able to crack a portion of it – 15 lines, to be exact. However, the parts that made sense contained heretical statements that would have landed Sister Maria in hot water. Why? She might have been a secret rebel if she hadn’t been possessed. Or you could be a liar. Or maybe a piece of her mind had separated from the rest.
Heretical Statements
Another Writing From The Devil
Sister Maria’s letter, however, isn’t the only alleged example of demonic writing. John Ashton’s book The Devil in Britain and America, published in 1896, claimed to contain a copy of “the only known specimen of the Devil’s handwriting.” That sample was itself sourced from a 16th-century tome in Latin called Introduction to the Languages of Chaldean, Syrian, and Armenian and the Ten Other Languages. Was this the same as Sister Maria’s?
Another Writing From The Devil
Ludovico Spoletano
The handwriting was allegedly recorded by Ludovico Spoletano, an Italian conjurer who remains a mystery to modern historians. The author may have first learned about Spoletano from a French intellectual with a similar interest in “magical” languages. Their story is fascinating, and the two are known to have corresponded on the subject.
Ludovico Spoletano
Questioning The Devil
According to legend, Spoletano summoned Satan and grilled him with a series of questions, which the Devil reportedly agreed to answer in writing. Instead of possessing the conjurer, Satan is said to have caused a pen to float in mid-air. According to legend, he then wrote the answers directly on Spoletano’s paper. As a result, the Devil’s writings have precedent.
Questioning The Devil
The Language Of Eden
According to Ashton, the script could have been derived from Amharic, an Ethiopian language spoken in the Amhara region. “According to a legend, [Amharic] was the primeval language spoken in Eden,” the writer claimed. And the Ashton sample continues to pique the interest of academics.
The Language Of Eden
Possibly A Prank
The writing is incomprehensible, according to both modern academics and amateur codebreakers. It should come as no surprise, then, that no one has been able to decipher the text to this point. Finally, the claim that the specimen contains the “Devil’s handwriting” could be nothing more than an elaborate ruse. Still, the script has a demonic vibe to it, with a few of the characters resembling pitchforks. Sister Maria’s letter, on the other hand, required the use of a machine to decipher.
Possibly A Prank
The Letter’s Claims
And we do know that the author of that letter claimed that God is a man-made creation, and that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all “dead weights.” According to the letter, “God thinks he can free mortals.” “This system works for no one.” Another sentence reads, “Perhaps now, Styx is certain,” which appears to be a reference to the mythological river that is said to lie on the edge of the underworld.
The Letter’s Claims
She Might Be Schizophrenic
Despite the religious content of Sister Maria’s scrawled ramblings, Abate believes the Devil did not write them. She told The New York Times, “I personally believe that the nun had a good command of languages, which allowed her to invent the code. And [Sister Maria] may have suffered from a condition like schizophrenia, which made her imagine dialogues with the Devil.”
She Might Be Schizophrenic
A Breakdown
Many of the symptoms of schizophrenia appear to be similar to those associated with demonic possession. Auditory hallucinations and strange fantasies could be among them. Similarly, some people with the condition speak in “word salad,” which appears to reflect a breakdown with coherent thought. This is similar to the phenomenon of speaking in tongues.
A Breakdown
Delusions
It’s also worth noting that the type of delusions schizophrenia patients have can appear to reflect their cultural background. Delusions involving religion, such as believing oneself to be a prophet or possessed by the Devil, are common in strongly Christian societies.
Delusions
A Trigger
On the other hand, religion might be a trigger for psychotic breakdowns, partly due to its themes and imagery. Sister Maria’s spirituality appeared to be a source of conflict, which is significant. She was unable to find salvation despite seeking refuge in a convent. Instead, the nun seems to have been afflicted by the same demonic forces that the Bible warns us about.
A Trigger
Different Opinion
However, not all psychiatrists consider demonic possession to be a form of mental illness. For example, Columbia University’s Dr. Richard Gallagher claims to have seen dozens of possession cases. And, according to Gallagher, demons exist, and one of their favorite pastimes is speaking strange languages.
Different Opinion
Brighter Than Humans
In June 2018, Gallagher told The Daily Mail that “[Demons are] fallen angels. They’re extremely bright, much brighter than humans. They’ve been around for millennia, so they speak all languages. I’ve heard them speak Chinese [and] ancient Greek, which I studied. I’ve certainly heard them speak and understand Latin… [They do it] probably to freak you out or to show off, to boast.”
Brighter Than Humans
Not Comforting
Gallagher continued, “I understand [that] believing in evil spirits is not a very comforting belief, and it has implications that, you know, we don’t want to accept. Having said that, there’s plenty of alternate theories. [But] I don’t think that those theories usually hold water. And when you’ve seen some of these cases, you realize that this is clearly not something that could be explained by psychopathology, or trickery or anything like that.”
Not Comforting
Others Agree With Him
Gallagher is not alone in his beliefs, as many mental health professionals agree with him. According to Dr. Mark Albanese, some psychiatrists recognize that an individual’s spiritual beliefs, whatever they are, play a role. “There’s a certain openness to experiences that are happening that are beyond what we can explain by MRI scans, neurobiology or even psychological theories,” he told CNN in August 2017.
Others Agree With Him
A Form Of Psychotherapy
Exorcism may be an archaic form of psychotherapy, according to psychologist Dr. Stephen Diamond. He claims, for example, that Jesus Christ was said to have cast out “demons” from sick people. Furthermore, Hippocrates, one of the founding figures of western medicine, was an exorcist. Moreover, the practice of exorcism has a long and varied history that spans many religions around the world.
A Form Of Psychotherapy
Similarities With Psychotherapy
Diamond even wrote about the similarities between psychotherapy and exorcisms in a 2012 article for the website Psychology Today. According to the expert, “Psychotherapy, like exorcism, commonly consists of a prolonged, pitched, demanding, soul-wrenching, sometimes tedious bitter battle royale with the patient’s diabolically obdurate emotional ‘demons.’ [This is] at times waged over the course of years or even decades rather than weeks or months – and not necessarily always with consummate success.”
Similarities With Psychotherapy
The Main Difference
Diamond continued, “The main difference between psychotherapy and exorcism is that modern psychotherapy is typically a secular treatment for figurative, metaphorical ‘demons’ – mental, emotional or psychological traumas, memories or ‘complexes’ – whereas exorcism takes the existence of demons quite literally. Doing so can have certain advantages in treating patients who believe in the Devil, demons and exorcism – if for no other reason than the extremely impressive power of suggestion.”
The Main Difference
Impromptu Exorcism
In some societies, the belief in demonic possession remains relatively widespread. A passenger on a crowded metro train in Mexico City, for example, filmed an impromptu “exorcism” taking place in full view of commuters in July 2018. The clip, which has been viewed over a million times, depicts a well-dressed man appearing to beseech Jesus Christ while a woman – who is allegedly possessed – screams the word “devil.”
Impromptu Exorcism
Not Unheard Of
“In the name of Jesus, leave…” the man says at one point. “You need to leave in the name of Jesus. You need to go!” However, after appearing to submit at first, the woman attacks him with a large umbrella. According to local media sources, such strange sights are not unheard of on the city’s metro trains.
Not Unheard Of
Causing Moral Panic
Furthermore, religious convictions can be so strong and deeply held that they can cause moral panic. For example, in September 2019, St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville purged its Harry Potter book library on the advice of the school pastor, who had apparently sought the advice of many exorcists.
Causing Moral Panic
Justifying His Action
Rev. Dan Reehil wrote to the parents of the school’s students to explain his actions, writing, “[The Harry Potter] books present magic as both good and evil – which is not true but in fact a clever deception. The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells which, when read by a human being, risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.”
Justifying His Action
Tragic Consequences
However, when moral panic prevents rational action, the results can be disastrous. In London in 2016, for example, Kennedy Ife’s “possession” began with a sore throat and sleeping difficulties. Ife’s condition deteriorated, however, as he became agitated and delusional, claiming to be possessed by a serpent. He began to act aggressively as well, according to subsequent court testimony from one of his brothers.
Tragic Consequences
An Ineffective Cure
Ife’s family, who are said to be charismatic Christians, allegedly went on to hide all of the kitchen knives and handcuff and rope the 26-year-old. After that, the relatives allegedly attempted a home exorcism, but their “cure” failed. Ife’s breathing became labored, and he began to complain about being dehydrated, according to reports. And, tragically, the young man would die, despite his brother’s best efforts to perform a ritualistic “resurrection.”
An Ineffective Cure
Persisting To This Day
As a result, the belief in demonic possession has persisted to this day – to the point where the Roman Catholic Church is allegedly training a new generation of exorcists. In a self-proclaimed spiritual battle against the forces of darkness, some Protestant churches have also taken to casting demons. However, is their work more than just a theatrical – and potentially harmful – form of psychotherapy?
Persisting To This Day
A Grey Area
Could the experiences of Sister Maria, the nuns of Loudon, and countless others have been described in any other terms than metaphysical in 17th-century Sicily – and hundreds of years before the birth of Freud and modern psychiatry? Whatever the truth is, Sister Maria’s so-called Devil’s letter is strange enough to keep us guessing even today. And it’s the grey areas between fact and fiction that can be the most fascinating.
A Grey Area
Saint Bernadette
But no nun’s story is more fascinating than Saint Bernadette’s. Despite the fact that the French woman has been dead for 140 years, her body has an odd quality to it. Her body is said to have remained eerily unchanged since the day she died.
Saint Bernadette
No Ordinary Person
It’s 1909, and it’s been 30 years since Bernadette Soubirous, a simple but devout girl from a small French town, died. Doctors are preparing to exhume her body for the first time. In normal circumstances, the doctors would expect to find some natural decomposition. Bernadette, on the other hand, was not your average person.
No Ordinary Person
Visions Of Virgin Mary
Bernadette became famous in Lourdes as a teenager for allegedly seeing visions of the Virgin Mary. She humbly lived out the rest of her days at a Catholic convent in Nevers, France, to avoid the attention. Bernadette’s life, however, was marred by illness. And after a long battle with tuberculosis, the Frenchwoman died at the young age of 35.
Visions Of Virgin Mary
Her Body Was Intact
When experts dug up Bernadette’s body in 1909, they were looking for evidence to explain the alleged divine encounters that had made her famous as a young woman. As the team carefully removed the stone slab from her tomb and cracked open the coffin, they were confronted with an unsettling sight. Bernadette’s body remained mysteriously intact three decades after her death.
Her Body Was Intact
Living In Poverty
On January 7, 1844, Saint Bernadette was born as Marie Bernarde Soubirous. She was born with eight brothers and sisters in the French town of Lourdes, near the Pyrenees mountains. Bernadette’s father, François, worked as a mill worker, and her mother, Louise, worked as a laundry maid. And it’s safe to say that the family faced some financial difficulties.
Living In Poverty
Filled With Sickness
Bernadette, on the other hand, was plagued by illness in addition to her poverty. Some speculate that this explains why the Frenchwoman never grew taller than 4 feet and 7 inches. Bernadette contracted cholera when she was a small child, and she suffered from severe breathing problems for the rest of her life.
Filled With Sickness
Her Study Was Hindered
Bernadette’s education was also hampered by her frail health. Her reading and writing skills, for example, were poor, and her command of the French language was limited. Bernadette, on the other hand, spoke in Occitan, a language indigenous to the Pyrenees region where she lived.
Her Study Was Hindered
The Dungeon
Bernadette’s family’s fortunes had plummeted to the point where the 11 of them were forced to live together in a single underground room at some point during her childhood. Even though they were living there rent-free thanks to Louise’s relative, the conditions were not ideal. The makeshift home had previously served as a prison cell, earning it the moniker “the dungeon.”
The Dungeon
Working Without Pay
Bernadette’s parents, meanwhile, were forced to take on a variety of jobs to feed their large family. Bernadette also lent a hand to her former wet nurse, Marie Lagues, in the nearby village of Bartrès for a while. According to reports, the girl was hired so Marie could look after her, but she soon found herself caring for her former wet nurse’s own children and even ministering to her sheep – all without pay.
Working Without Pay
Pious By Nature
Despite her difficulties, Bernadette maintained a strong sense of religious devotion. When the Frenchwoman was reprimanded for not memorizing her religious studies, she reportedly responded, “At least she would always know how to love the good God.” Bernadette’s religious nature didn’t go unnoticed by the local clergy.
Pious By Nature
Describing Bernadette
In fact, despite his limited interactions with Bernadette, a priest named Abbe Arder from the commune of Bartrès appeared to be quite taken with her. Arder is said to have mused, “She seems to me like a flower surrounded in divine perfume.” He allegedly said of the girl on another occasion. “Look at this small child. When the Blessed Virgin wants to appear on Earth, she chooses children like her.” No one could have predicted how accurate the clergyman’s description of Bernadette would be.
Describing Bernadette
Massabielle Cave
Bernadette was out collecting firewood with her sister Toinette and a playmate named Jeanne in February 1858. The girls were said to be exploring a small cave known as Massabielle, which means “old rock,” at the bottom of a hillside in Lourdes. Cattle were known to seek refuge inside the grotto, which was surrounded by a brook.
Massabielle Cave
Crossing A River
The story goes that Toinette and Jeanne crossed the river, carrying on their journey away from the grotto. On the other hand, Bernadette seemed hesitant to do so for fear of becoming cold, so she looked for a dryer route. Finally, the adolescent girl decided that in order to cross the water, she would have to remove her shoes and stockings.
Crossing A River
A Figure Appeared
Bernadette then sat down to take off her shoes when she heard what she thought was a gust of wind. Despite this, almost everything remained eerily silent. The only thing in the grotto that seemed to move with the breeze was a wild rose. Bernadette also claimed that a figure appeared out of nowhere from the cave’s darkness at this point.
A Figure Appeared
Her Vision
Bernadette later described the apparition as a lovely young woman bathed in a dazzling light. The vision is said to have stretched its arms out towards Bernadette as well, possibly signaling the Frenchwoman to approach. The figure was also said to be carrying an ivory-colored rosary.
Her Vision
Initially Alarmed
According to Franz Werfel’s book The Song of Bernadette, the teenaged girl was initially alarmed by the vision, published in 1941. However, something compelled her to remain, and she became strangely enthralled by the figure. Bernadette was then inspired to take out her own rosary and pray. And it’s claimed that when she came to a halt after about 15 minutes, the apparition vanished.
Initially Alarmed
She Told Her Sister
Bernadette later revealed her strange encounter with the mysterious vision to her sister Toinette. Even though the adolescent girl allegedly swore her younger sister to secrecy, it appears that Toinette later informed their parents. As a result, news of the apparition in the cave spread quickly throughout Lourdes.
She Told Her Sister
Not Her Last
Bernadette had no idea, however, that this was not to be her final vision. In fact, between the spring and summer of 1858, she was said to have had 18 of them. Bernadette is said to have returned to the cave after church on February 14 of that year for the second time. According to reports, the adolescent girl went with her sister Marie and several friends this time.
Not Her Last
Appearing Once More
Bernadette is said to have dropped to her knees as soon as she entered the cave, claiming that the figure had reappeared. Despite the fact that Bernadette is said to have gone into a trance-like state, the other girls appear to have been unaffected. According to legend, the vision vanished after one of the groups sprayed holy water into the darkness and another smashed a stone on the ground.
Appearing Once More
la Quinzaine sacrée
Bernadette returned to the grotto on February 18, according to historian Therese Taylor. And on this occasion, the strange figure reportedly told the adolescent girl to go to the cave every day for two weeks. Bernadette’s life would be defined by this period, which would come to be known as “la Quinzaine sacrée” – or “holy fortnight.”
La Quinzaine Sacrée
Starting An Important Tradition
The figure is said to have asked Bernadette to quench her thirst and clean herself in the water from a spring during one of these visits to the grotto. However, there was no spring in sight. Bernadette, according to legend, dug into the soil and discovered a bubbling brook. The young woman then drank from the spring, beginning a tradition that would make Lourdes one of the world’s most important Catholic pilgrimage destinations.
Starting An Important Tradition
Producing Gallons Of Water
Bernadette is said to have discovered a spring that soon began to produce thousands of gallons of water per day. And it has done so even when there has been little rainfall. The spring is now redirected into a reservoir, which provides water for pilgrims to bathe in and drink, just as Bernadette is said to have done all those years ago.
Producing Gallons Of Water
An Important Task
The discovery of the spring, however, was not the last vision Bernadette claimed to have had. The young woman was apparently given an important task during the seventh reported manifestation. The apparition, it seems, wanted the local clergymen to build a chapel beside the grotto, which Bernadette later passed on to her family.
An Important Task
Her Family Was Ashamed
Bernadette’s parents had previously been embarrassed by their daughter’s stories and had even attempted to prevent her from visiting the cave. Nonetheless, some locals believed the adolescent girl, and they claimed that she had seen the Virgin Mary. Bernadette, on the other hand, had not yet confirmed this theory.
Her Family Was Ashamed
A Description Of The Figure
Bernadette, on the other hand, appears to have given a detailed account of the apparition. According to Taylor’s 2003 biography, Bernadette of Lourdes: Her Life, Death and Visions, the young woman described the figure as “a small young lady.” The apparition was also said to be wearing a white shawl and a blue belt, according to her. Bernadette also claimed to remember seeing a yellow flower on each of the figure’s feet, which is common in religious depictions of the Virgin Mary.
A Description Of The Figure
The Vision’s Revelation
On the other hand, Bernadette didn’t seem to get a clear picture of who the enigmatic apparition was until one of her final visions. During the hour-long encounter, the Frenchwoman claimed she repeatedly asked the figure what her name was. “I am the Immaculate Conception,” the vision apparently revealed. Bernadette would never claim that the Virgin Mary had spoken to her again.
The Vision’s Revelation
Questioned By Officials
Bernadette was interrogated by religious and government officials following her visions. Despite this, her story remained consistent. In 1862, the church confirmed that the adolescent girl’s visions were real. Furthermore, according to the Lourdes Medical Bureau, Bernadette’s discovery of a water spring has resulted in nearly 70 miraculous healings.
Questioned By Officials
Miracle Water
Meanwhile, the mayor of Lourdes had requested that the water from the grotto be tested the same year as Bernadette’s visions. And, despite its higher mineral content, an expert discovered that the spring contained nothing that could have explained the confirmed cures. The secret ingredients behind the miracles, according to Bernadette, were simply belief and worship. “The water will have no virtue without faith,” she allegedly said.
Miracle Water
The Sanctuary Of Our Lady Of Lourdes
Meanwhile, Bernadette’s calls for the construction of a church at the cave led to the construction of various places of worship in Lourdes. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes was established on the land closest to the grotto. Today, millions of pilgrims visit the holy site each year from all over the world.
The Sanctuary Of Our Lady Of Lourdes
Escaping From The Publicity
However, while the visions made Lourdes a popular pilgrimage destination, Bernadette herself seemed eager to get away from the publicity they had brought her. As a result, she traveled over 400 miles from her hometown to live at the Sisters of Charity of Nevers’ religious institute. And it was here that Bernadette learned to be literate.
Escaping From The Publicity