Rome opens fresh probe into missing Vatican teen

Rome prosecutors have opened a fresh investigation into the disappearance of a teenager 40 years ago, and are calling for full collaboration from The Vatican.

Emanuela Orlandi, daughter of a Vatican employee, has been missing for 40 years

Rome prosecutors have opened a fresh investigation into the disappearance of a teenager 40 years ago, and are calling for full collaboration from The Vatican.

Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee, was last seen leaving a music class in Rome on June 22, 1983. Decades of speculation followed over what happened to her, with suggestions that mobsters, the secret services or a Vatican conspiracy were to blame, theories that sparked a Netflix series.

The Orlandi family’s lawyer Laura Sgro said overnight on Monday that she had learned of the fresh probe through Italian media reports, and “it would certainly be welcome news”.

The family has campaigned tirelessly for the truth, and it was its demands that led in part to The Vatican launching an inquiry into its most famous cold case in January.

Following that, Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office is now also formally returning to investigate the Orlandi case, Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper said.

It will be the third investigation by the Rome office, following ones from 1983-1997, and 2008- 2015.

The Vatican has been ­accused of obstructing investigation efforts over the decades.

The fresh Italian investigation was driven in part by former prosecutor Giancarlo Capaldo’s claims that he had spoken during the last probe to two representatives at The Vatican who had promised to reveal the whereabouts of Orlandi’s body, the Corriere said.

One of the most widely circulated theories claims Orlandi was snatched by mobsters to put pressure on The Vatican to ­recover a loan. Another claim was that she was taken to force the release from prison of Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who ­attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981.

The twists and turns of the case were documented in a 2022 TV series by Netflix called ­Vatican Girl.

In it, a friend also claimed the teen confided the week before she disappeared to having been harassed in The Vatican gardens by a figure close to John Paul II.

AFP