The Pope’s Exorcist is a chilling horror and thriller movie that has riveted and spooked audiences, and much of it is based on a true story, including what happened to the character, Rosaria. The Pope’s Exorcist was produced by Sony Pictures and released in 2023. It tells the tale of Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist for the Vatican. Amorth finds that he must battle an opponent unlike any other, Satan and a band of demons. Throughout this battle, he becomes entrenched in a serious investigation that leads him to a revelation about a centuries-old Vatican secret.
Surprisingly, there are many parts of The Pope’s Exorcist that are actually based on true events. For example, the story follows some aspects of the Catholic Church’s history relating to the Spanish Inquisition. One of the characters in the film, Rosaria (Bianca Bardoe), is also based on a real-life person who has a chilling story that has captivated the general public for decades.
Rosaria In The Pope’s Exorcist Is Loosely Inspired By The True Story Of Emanuela Orlandi
The character Rosaria in The Pope’s Exorcist is speculated to serve as a metaphor for the true story of a young woman named Emanuela Orlandi. In the film, Rosaria comes to Father Amorth and tells him that she is possessed by a demon that is raping her every night. Amorth turns his back on her and refuses to perform an exorcism to rid her of her demons. Rosaria then jumps to her death in front of Amorth, leaving him riddled with guilt. He admits that he mishandled her mental illness and alludes to her being sexually abused within the Vatican.
This connects to the real-life story of Emanuela Orlandi. Orlandi is the daughter of a Vatican employee and went missing on her way home from a music class in Rome in June of 1983 when she was just 15 years old. Orlandi has never been seen again. Many speculate that the Vatican may have been involved in Orlandi’s disappearance, and this theory was explored in great depth in the Netflix docu-series Vatican Girl. The real Father Gabriele Amorth, said in May 2012 that he thinks Orlandi was kidnapped by a member of the Vatican police for sex parties and that she was murdered. The Vatican has been accused by Italian authorities of not cooperating with the investigation surrounding this case, further adding to the suspicion that they were involved.
Emanuela Orlandi Has Still Been Missing Since 1983 (But Her Case Was Reopened In 2023)
This haunting case has horrified people since Orlandi’s disappearance in 1983. There has been no conclusion as to what happened to Orlandi, but the case was reopened in 2023 by the Vatican’s promoter of justice, Alessandro Diddi. This is after several requests from Emanuela’s older brother, Pietro, who has not given up hope for discovering what really happened to his sister.
The Pope’s Exorcist is a major Netflix hit, and the true stories behind it only make it more interesting for viewers. Between the docu-series Vatican Girl and the character of Rosaria, there has been a resurgence of interest and outrage surrounding the Emanuela Orlandi case. Many remain hopeful that one day, the truth about what happened to the real-life Rosaria, Emanuela Orlandi, and the Vatican’s possible involvement will emerge.
