Greetings to you, O my sister.
Do you want to sing a song to her?
O, you...
...Enlightened...
Who are you? What are you doing?
We are going to the convent of Pescia, where our daughter will take the veil.
They have money, Captain.
To pay her dowry to the convent.
I pay in bills of exchange, not in Écus.
You must have something.
Give us back that chain! It belongs to my mother.
She has more balls than you!
The Blessed Virgin will punish you.
What do you know about that?
She does whatever I ask of her.
Fuck her... the Virgin.
Do you hear it?
It's the voice of the Virgin. She shows that she's heard me.
Shit!
Take it!
She'll have a good time with you, the Virgin.
Let's go!
Hello, Lord Carlini.
If you would like to follow me.
Wait here.
The Theatines are grateful, for you are bringing a bride to Jesus.
Benedetta will be very happy with us.
I bring oranges, apples and wine in large quantities.
For 25 years you will receive the same.
Every year.
That is very generous of you, Lord Carlini.
What about the dowry?
When my little Benedetta was born, she almost died.
But God miraculously saved her. So I promised to give her to him.
A very moving story. I've heard a lot like that.
And every time, it touches me.
But every year, hundreds of girls want to serve God.
This year's postulants ... And I can only take three.
I appreciate the challenges you face,
I will give you 50 gold crowns.
In addition to the fruit and wine, which don't count for nothing.
Outside of here, a wife's dowry is at least 150 crowns.
Is a bride of Christ worth less than 100?
Let's cut the pear in half: 75.
You are not going to quibble like a Jew for 25 crowns.
After all, Giulano, she is your darling daughter.
Understood.
- 100 ecus. - We don't trade horses.
Your word is enough for me. And your bill of exchange.
She's too tall.
- They are so beautiful. - Take off your dress!
- What is that? - It was from my mother.
To pray to the Blessed Virgin.
We have our own Virgin at the convent.
It is to her that you will pray.
- But she's mine! - Hurry.
The dress now.
It itches, it's horrible.
It's on purpose.
Your body is your worst enemy.
You better not feel too good in it.
When I was a little older than you
I lost two inches of flesh under a drunkard's knife.
This wooden finger, I care more about than the nine others.
If I could, I would replace every part of my body
until it is just a block of wood
in which the name of God would be carved.
Like on a gravestone?
You are intelligent.
But it can be dangerous, my little one.
And not just for others.
Benedetta, it's over here.
Give it to me.
Here is your cell.
Tomorrow you put this on.
Beloved Mary,
you are my mother now.
Please help me. I feel so lonely.
I don't know if you can hear me where I am.
Benedetta!
Are you hurt?
Raise the statue!
- Did you touch the statue? - No.
- She fell on me. - What were you doing there?
I wanted to pray to the virgin.
Can you stand on your legs?
Yes.
It is a miracle that she wasn't crushed.
All right, go to bed and bring Benedetta back to bed.
Well.
My mother!
Could it be a real miracle?
Let's avoid big words.
Miracles are springing up like mushrooms.
But they're not worth the trouble they pose.
I didn't really believe it.
I have longed to see my son; the Lord Jesus.
I wanted to be in the presence of his body again.
And God...
in his infinite gentleness,
sent me an angel, who proclaimed that night:
"You will ascend to your son in glory."
For your presence here, my brothers,
I prayed fervently.
Noble lady, full of grace
and wisdom,
you are our reward.
I will now take my place on this bed prepared for me.
Benedetta!
Come!
You are my wife.
Come to me!
I'm coming, Lord, I'm coming.
Come to me!
Benedetta, your feet!
This feast is offered to us by our generous guest,
Giulano Carlini.
Let's drink to his health.
Let us have a thought for our bishop of Milan
who passed away last week.
I heard it was the plague.
Indeed.
The bishop was a good man.
But I think his cathedra made his head spin.
If it is the will of God,
his seat will be better occupied by your grace.
Oh no. No, and it is very sad.
Yet I paid court to the Vatican with the impudence of a whore,
but I am not a prominent enough character.
It would be amazing if the Pope could locate Pescia on a map.
We just have to hope for a cartographic miracle.
What were you doing with your feet?
You were supposed to be dead.
I saw Jesus.
He came to me.
I am his wife, am I not?
Yes. Yes of course.
Open the door!
Open.
He will kill me, help me!
Open! Please!
Take me! No, he's approaching!
- Please help me. - Hooker!
You will not escape me. You are mine, little whore!
I want to be with you! Please!
Come!
- Are you looking for a fight? - You are in a convent!
I love Jesus.
- Accept me. - I'm her father.
- She's mine. - Let me stay here.
But ... a convent is not a place of charity, dear child.
You have to pay to get in here. Do you have money?
No.
- That's enough now! - No!
Let go of me!
I want to serve God!
Mother, help her.
- We will pay her dowry! - Am I going to pay for a stranger?
I will pray for you all my life, sir.
Magnificent!
Lord Carlini, the rich do not enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus said so.
And you, reverend mother, you are doing everything
to get me in.
OK.
Gift for you, Benedetta.
What? My daughter is mine.
- I won't give her to you for nothing. - I'll give you ten dinari.
Twenty. And the price of a dog to replace that bitch.
Here you go.
This is delicious.
Here, catch.
Lather yourself well.
What's your name?
- Sister Benedetta, how about you? - Bartolomea.
- Bartolomea what? - Bartolomea period.
- Is it a rule to wash properly? - A clean body for a clean soul.
I rub as hard as I can.
Damn, my soap. Where is it?
I almost fell.
Is there water left for me to rinse off?
Sister Benedetta?
Your nightgown is on the table.
Sister Benedetta?
I need to shit. Where is it?
Follow me.
Real toilet seats?
- Where did you do it before? - Well outside, with the animals.
Oh, that feels good! It's relieving!
Hush! We can't talk so loud.
That is allowed, I hope.
Wait a minute.
Sorry, who did that to you?
My father.
Why?
My mother died of the plague, so my father took me as his wife.
I told him I didn't want to, but he didn't give a shit.
- Like a woman, for everything? - Yes, everything.
My brothers also did the same when the old man wasn't looking.
This morning, I tried to stab him with scissors.
He didn't like it, he was going to murder me. So I ran away.
It's not an advantage to be beautiful.
If I looked like a goat, he would do the same.
Do you think I'm beautiful?
Don't you know that?
No. We didn't have a mirror at home.
You are beautiful.
Maybe you could see your reflection in my eyes.
- I don't see anything. - You have to move closer.
So, do you see yourself?
What are you two doing there?
She didn't know where the latrines were.
Who is she?
Christina. The daughter of the Reverend Mother.
Does she always spy like that for her mother?
Holy Mother, Bartolomea wants me to show her the example,
but I am not worthy to teach her.
God has placed this young girl in your path.
Doesn't she need love and advice?
Yes, but it must be directed with an iron fist ...
that I do not have.
God will guide you.
Help! Jesus!
- What did those beasts want? - To kill you.
They are demons trying to pull us away from each other.
But they are stupid.
Neither life nor death can separate us.
Stay with me.
Yes, sweet Jesus.
I will stay with you.
Speak, my sister.
My father...
I saw Jesus.
- In a dream? - No.
In the flesh. As I see you in front of me.
How did you feel?
- Afraid. - So that was a false view.
When Christ manifests himself, we are filled with joy.
How do you know what is right or wrong?
Through suffering.
It is the only way to know Christ.
I know God wants us to suffer, but ...
- ... that scares me. - It's natural.
The ways of God are often terrifying.
Fools say:
"I am not afraid of him, for I know he is all goodness."
Have they never seen a surgeon at work?
So we must rejoice in our misfortunes?
Pray for it.
I absolve you.
The spools are ruined. Do you know how much they're worth?
- What a fool! - You ran into me.
- I beg your pardon? - It's your fault.
Stop lying.
I saw you.
- Get those spools out of the cauldron. - The water is still boiling.
Get them out of there and quickly, or we'll send you back to your father.
And the rest?
- You want me to do it again? - The spools are getting destroyed.
- Stop it! - Who cares!
What's happening here ?
Bartolomea burned her hand.
- Everyone back to work! - Sister Petra,
- she has to go to the infirmary. - Ben, take her.
One of your sisters damaged spools of silk
and you have taken it upon yourself to give her punishment.
No, reverend mother.
No?
I didn't want to punish her, but to hurt her.
Did you want to inflict pain on one of your sisters on purpose?
Yes, deliberately.
Wasn't it out of malignancy?
If you say it's out of malignity, it's true.
Don't you know your feelings?
It seems not.
Bartolomea did something that made you angry?
No.
- Do you hate her for a reason? - No!
Do you have affection for her?
I have ... compassion, yes. For all her suffering.
Including the ones you inflict on her?
Yes, my dad says they guide us to God
and make us stronger.
Our own suffering.
Not those of others.
You have shown too much zeal. No bread for a week
and you will change Sister Jacopa's sheets for 15 days.
- You may leave. - Okay, reverend mother.
- My sister, I'm supposed to help you. - Stay where you are.
Suffering is my job, I'm proud of it.
Pride is a sin.
Everyone has the right to a sin.
Which is yours ?
I have never sinned.
But I know I could.
Sure.
Help me.
My sin...
is being born Jewish.
Sister Petra was a whore.
She was sold in the latrines of Florence and nobody cared.
But my father had a circumcised cock.
That was the unforgivable sin.
You just found out about my secret lover.
You call that love?
God will speak to you in many languages.
If your heart is brave enough to open up to it.
Step aside!
Let the Abbess pass.
It hurts!
I'm being tortured!
Hold her leg. Careful.
It'll be OK.
Tie her up.
Go get the doctors.
- How is she doing? - She drank poppy juice.
- She's sleeping. - What was wrong?
I didn't find anything abnormal.
- Yet she is in great pain. - She screamed for hours without stopping.
There is black bile in her urine.
This is common.
And if it starts again?
I'll leave you some poppy juice.
Twenty dinari.
Why are you so cruel?
You want to be with me?
Me, I want to be with you.
Jesus!
Oh thank you, my sweet Jesus.
Benedetta,
- I'll heal your wound. - You are not Jesus.
I am Jesus.
You are my wife.
No! It's not true!
Give yourself to me!
Bitch! I'll cut you to pieces!
Here.
You are going to have a cellmate.
Thank you.
Benedetta.
Are you feeling better?
I feel as God pleases that I feel.
I have decided to put someone by your side.
She will stay with you day and night, take care of you,
will pray with you.
Will give you your medicine if needed.
I'm sorry to be a burden.
We'll see if that helps.
Bartolomea was the only one who volunteered for this task.
I hope there is something providential in this choice.
Perhaps a lesson in forgiveness.
Why are you here?
To torment me?
What have I done that makes you think so?
How do you put anything in there?
That is the dress I was wearing when I got here.
And this?
It was my mother's.
She gave it to me when I was little.
So we're going to put it ... there.
I have been deceived by the devil.
He made me hurt you.
But you came back.
Did you get out of bed yet?
I try to make myself useful.
The Reverend Mother asked me for help with the accounts.
What is that?
Numbers.
I don't know them.
I could teach you.
Ah... I'm not good at learning, myself.
All warm and cosy!
Anything else?
No thanks. I have to go to bed.
Can't I just have a look?
We are not allowed to be naked in front of others.
Really?
I saw you!
It was a joke.
You are the only one who finds them funny, your jokes.
Possibly.
I saw your breasts.
I saw them.
Benedetta...
Benedetta!
Do you want to suffer to show your love for me?
Remove your clothes.
We are forbidden to be naked in the presence of another.
Where I am,
there can be no shame.
Do what I say.
Yes, Lord.
I obey.
Come to me.
Remove everything that separates us.
Put your hands on mine.
Oh, the pain.
Oh my God. Oh my God, that hurts!
It's too much! I can't take it anymore.
Help me.
Help me. Help me.
It was Jesus who did this to me.
Last night.
He did this to me.
And there too.
The stigmata!
Were you praying when it happened?
I was in my bed. Asleep.
That's when it happened.
Saint Francis was in prayer when he received the stigmata.
Catherine of Siena too.
Neither was sleeping.
I was sleeping.
- Jesus made me these marks. - It was Jesus. I saw it.
Ah! You saw it?
I heard him speak.
What did he say?
I do not remember.
I thought the word of God would make a bigger impression on you.
Take Sister Benedetta to my room.
Can you open the screen?
I clean her wounds, but they start to bleed again.
They are very deep.
Look.
Her feet are in the same condition.
- And her side? - Worse.
How is it possible ?
I don't know. I've never seen this before.
What can we do?
Keep them clean.
Change the dressings every two hours.
Take off her wimple.
No blood.
I'm in pain.
When they placed the crown of thorns on him,
Jesus' forehead bled.
I see nothing.
Dress her wounds.
And tight.
Do you have any doubts?
The girl was in bed.
No miracle happens in a bed, trust me.
So, what am I writing?
The lack of signs on her head is disturbing.
In all documented cases of stigmata,
they refer to marks left by the crown of thorns.
But God is not bound by any written law.
Do we agree?
- Your Grace? - Yes, my child?
- Can I go? - But of course.
Would you like a glass of wine?
With pleasure.
Leave me, I need to pray.
Do you think I am too hasty in believing in this miracle?
My dear provost, I don't think you believe it at all.
Am I that cynical?
Maybe.
Unless I myself have a vision.
It's possible.
A vision of Saint Francis perhaps.
Assisi was an insignificant village. Today, pilgrims flock there.
And fill its two basilicas.
Administered by a bishop, not by a provost.
Ah Jesus, what's happening to me?
Blasphemy!
Know, O sinners,
that when the plague hits every corner of the country,
Pescia was spared by the grace alone
of My wife.
You harass, torment
and persecute the one who protected you.
- What did you see? - She fell.
A timely miracle.
Your Grace, all of this has gone too far. We really have to...
Do you want to wreak havoc on us?
You have heard the words spoken.
- I heard words. - Are you mocking me?
These words, disturbing as they are, are those of God.
I feel it deep in my soul.
This miracle is the glory of the Théatines,
how can you not see it?
I see it, your Grace.
You play the docile one...
but you will stab me as soon as my back is turned.
Well...
we will see if God gives us everything we want.
Praise be to Benedetta.
Saint Benedetta.
People believe that Benedetta is a saint.
But we know it doesn't make sense.
Really?
You were amazed at the absence of a wound on her forehead
and suddenly she breaks a glass and a wound appears.
Did you see her? Were you there?
- No. - So you don't know anything.
I didn't see anything...
- but I know. - But how do you know?
God showed it to you?
Did you have a vision too?
Why are you defending her?
We do not always understand the instruments of God.
Maybe he put Benedetta in a trance and it's in this state
that she hurt herself.
Or God sent us a crazy woman...
who spouts nonsense to serve his purposes.
I want you to give me your heart.
But won't I die without my heart?
You will live. Do you love me?
How can I love you without my heart?
I'll give you a new one. Mine.
Bartolomea.
- What's the matter? - Jesus gave me a new heart.
It's so big!
Too big for my chest.
Feel it!
Feel how big it is.
Yes! I can feel it... Yes.
- What's the matter? - Benedetta had a nightmare.
Everything's fine.
Good night.
Go to bed.
A wonderful thing has happened to us.
Jesus Christ chose our blessed sister,
Benedetta.
We have seen her wounds,
they are those of Jesus!
Praise be to God!
PRAISE BE GOD!
Jesus chose her.
And that's why we,
invested by the powers of his Church,
choose Benedetta as abbess
of the Theatines Convent.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
- AMEN. - Amen.
Let us pray, Lord God!
It's impossible.
Sister Christina, what's wrong with you?
With all due respect, father,
it's up to us,
we, the sisters of this convent,
to choose a new Abbess.
- To us alone. - It was Jesus who chose.
Your Lord and Master.
It is God's will.
But who decides what the will of God is?
Isn't it us sisters ...
Christina !
Get out.
Now.
The matter is finished.
I ask the Reverend Mother to relinquish her duties.
Sister Benedetta,
come forward.
- Say it again, I like it. - Your Majesty.
It bounces.
- It's my bed. - It's soft.
And it's all for us.
Sister Jacopa has fallen! She can't move!
She won't make it through the day.
Reverend Mother, I will stay with her.
Sure.
But if she doesn't give up the ghost before Vespers, you leave her bedside.
This will be my first Mass, as an Abbess
and Jesus told me that you must be present.
Fine, Reverend Mother.
I will stay with Sister Jacopa until dawn, if I have to.
Perfect.
Jesus didn't tell me anything about you.
Mud is thrown in your face and you say nothing.
Those are the rules of the game.
In the end, everyone wins.
The provost will have his episcopate and the Théatines will benefit from it.
It that important ?
It may be vain and unnecessary, but I have devoted my life to it.
I had a life to give, I chose this convent and ...
perhaps he chose me.
- But my mother, you can't ... - Call me "Sister Felicita".
But people need to know. What is happening here is blasphemy.
Those who matter already know that.
If they don't denounce Benedetta,
it is because they do not want it to be denounced.
If you do, they will destroy you.
You will be alone.
I won't defend you.
It's time for Vespers, Sister Felicita.
Lies...
My father,
I want to confess.
- At this hour? - You have to, father.
You have refused to bow down before God, do you repent?
The Lord taught me never to lie.
This is what leads me to repentance.
Speak. Renew the bonds that unite you with the living Lord.
Regarding Sister Benedetta, I must tell you that ...
Your Reverend Mother?
Yes.
Yes, I'm talking about the Reverend Mother.
She's a false prophetess.
Her miracle was fake. She created her stigmata.
You are in confession. Do you want to blame others?
I blame myself... of being silent.
Out of cowardice.
Do you have any proof?
The stigmata ... on her head.
She used a piece of glass
to cut her forehead and make it bleed.
Did you witness it?
Yes.
The three.
This is a ...?
- Four. - Yes go ahead.
No no, you press too hard.
Let's start over.
- I can't. - Yes, you can.
Go on.
Come.
Do you want to see them?
Show me.
Go deeeper.
Deeper!
Ah, I can't.
My hand is too big.
Do you want to taste?
Oh my God.
My God.
No...
No! No!
- Oh no. - Yes, you can.
Come on, cum now!
Come on!
It just won't stop!
Oh sweet Jesus...
You want more?
Today's reading is taken from Leviticus.
But before we start,
I will address some questions
that trouble the hearts of our sisters.
Sister Christina.
If there is something that concerns you,
you have a duty to express it.
Do you want me ... to talk now?
- Here? - Where else?
Pour out your heart. Get up, speak!
Come on, talk!
Our Mother Superior...
deceives us
and lies to us.
Dear sister, explain yourself.
Do you have any complaints regarding our Reverend Mother?
I just know that ...
That...
What do you know, my sister?
Benedetta deceives us.
She inflicted the marks on her forehead.
When she fell
she broke glass and wounded herself with it.
I saw it.
My dear sister, what are you saying?
I'm sure that the other signs appeared in the same way.
Sister Christina,
you have seen
our Reverend Mother cut herself with a shard of glass?
- Is that what you're saying? - Yes.
And I reported it to the Abbess.
What did you tell him?
What I saw.
What Sister Benedetta did.
You are aware
that false testimony is a mortal sin?
I am not lying.
Sister Felicita,
come forward.
Did Sister Christina tell you
about having seen Sister Benedetta
inflict injuries on her forehead?
She had serious doubts.
But did she see her do it?
She did not tell me that she witnessed it directly ...
Directly ... Did she witness it or not?
No.
She did not witness it.
You lied to us!
She doesn't believe in me!
It is Satan who possesses her.
She must be punished.
The flogging! She must flog herself!
The devil must be driven from your body!
Strip yourself!
Free yourself from the demon.
Strike yourself, my dear sister.
Finally!
The rain has stopped.
I have a gift for you.
It'll go further than my fingers. You want to try?
It's a bit rough.
Oh yeah. I'll take care of it.
Take that off.
- It made you happy, right? - What made me happy?
Seeing Christina whipping herself. I saw you.
Ah... No that's not true.
It was after.
I thought about you.
How it would be with you.
Shall we try it?
Very smooth.
- Ah! - Does it hurt?
No, it feels good.
Is there a fire?
- Is it a star? - A comet.
The comet is above our convent.
- What does it mean? - It's a warning from God.
Something terrible is going to happen.
Christina, don't!
Christina!
Christina! Christina!
What did you do?
You silly little girl, what did you do?
I'm going to lay my hands on her
and intercede for the salvation of her soul.
Intercede? Don't touch her!
We have to!
The soul of a suicide goes straight to hell, but I can intervene.
Take your hands off! Go away!
One word from me and Jesus will reach out to save her from the flames.
You're the one who'll be roasting in hell!
Stop!
Lying bitch! Whore!
She gave me an order.
- She's no longer our abbess but ... - Where did she go?
To Florence.
Sister Felicita is gone.
She is on her way to Florence.
To do what?
To talk to the nuncio, I guess.
What does she want to tell him?
What are you afraid she'll say to him?
All of it.
What do you mean by that?
That my miracles are not real?
I'm not talking about that.
That...
I cut myself with a tiny piece of glass?
That's what you did, no?
Right?
I don't know.
I don't know how God makes things happen.
I know he is doing his will through me.
It's not just my flesh.
It's his too.
Stop it! You disgust me.
That's what you're afraid of.
What Sister Felicita could tell about us,
what we do.
Do you think we should be ashamed of this?
Shame does not exist under the protection of God's love.
The love of God?
You only love yourself.
- Come closer, then. - No!
Just your breasts.
Please.
Sweet Jesus, no!
Don't ask me that, please!
Benedetta?
The sisters must dig a grave.
Where's Teresa?
At the hospital. She won't survive, Your Excellency.
Probably not, no.
It's been three since Sunday, but I'm not afraid.
Maybe because you are too full of life.
A few more weeks and he'll be here. I already have milk.
That's enough.
Would you like to add anything?
I told you everything. It's in your hands now.
Extraordinary charges require extraordinary evidence.
I only told the truth.
You can doubt my motives,
but come to Pescia
and you will see for yourself.
If you want to take an honest look.
If there is devilry in Pescia, I'll know how to unmask it.
If this sister is guilty of the blasphemy of which you accuse her,
she will go to the stake.
But if your testimony is false ...
What are we going to do with you?
Who can saY?
Oh yes...
Me.
Our Lord!
Jesus!
Lord, have mercy!
Jesus!
Have mercy on us!
It is a sign of the Judgment of God!
"The third angel sounded his trumpet
"and a star that burned like a torch fell from heaven.
"Its pestilence will poison a third of the waters."
It's the plague! It is the instrument to punish us!
The plague will befall Pescia!
No...
Thank you Lord.
Thank you!
Do not be afraid.
The comet is the sign that the Lord is protecting us.
The plague will not affect Pescia.
Jesus promised me, his bride,
that this city would be spared!
Lord Jesus, protect us!
Protect our city!
Thank you, Lord Jesus!
O sweet Jesus,
we know you are here with us.
Thank you, my God.
Close the city gates. Don't let anyone through.
It is the will of the Lord. Close the doors now.
My sister?
What's going on?
I don't know.
Benedetta!
Is the grave for you?
Answer me.
A letter!
It fell from the sky! The end is near!
Ring the bell!
It is written. Read it!
It's a letter from God!
Nuncio! Give me absolution.
Your Excellency, I am dying.
Don't let me die like this.
Ask the priest of your parish for absolution .
It's me. It is I, the priest of the parish.
To the left!
I got it!
Open the doors for the nuncio!
The doors remain closed.
No one comes in, no one leaves.
I am the nuncio of Florence. Open those doors!
For the Pope, it would be the same. We do not open.
You are under my authority, that of the Church!
Here we are under the authority of Jesus himself!
The doors remain closed.
Your excellence.
I am the provost of Pescia.
Alfonso Giglioli, representative of the Pope,
I must speak to the abbess of the Theatines convent.
I regret to inform you:
the Most Holy Benedetta died this afternoon.
We are sorry that you have that you have made the journey.
I will celebrate the funeral mass. Lead me to her.
Let's go!
The plague must remain outside our walls.
Anyone who wants to enter must be examined by our doctors.
- Even you, Excellency. - It is God who sends us.
You are not going to stop us.
We're coming in!
Make way, move along!
Step aside!
Open the door.
It is an honor to welcome your Excellency.
- Did you put on a show? - No, Your Excellency.
Before she died, our mother told us
how God wanted to celebrate her ascension.
- Another of her visions? - Yes, that's exactly it.
Her coffin was to be carried by nine novices
dressed as angels.
Who was that?
The skin is intact.
No sign of the plague.
- Did she receive the last rites? - No, her death was too sudden.
I will administer them to her.
Make the preparations.
So, are you happy?
I never wanted her to die.
Not so fast, anyway.
Through this holy anointing
Jesus, hold me.
Don't let me go!
I want to stay with you.
I was in heaven, in perfect peace.
But I was torn from it
like a baby from its mother's womb. I was sent back...
Jesus brought me back here to Earth.
For what reason, my mother?
I have seen the souls of those who will soon die.
I have seen all your souls and I have shed torrents of tears.
You saw mine too, I suppose?
Jesus sent me back here
to save you from the plague and what awaits you afterwards.
The eternal flames of hell.
Don't worry about the flames of hell, my mother.
It is the flames of this world that will consume you.
The Black Death approaches Pescia.
It watches, sharpening it's scythe.
I saw the bloated bodies, the blood.
Rich and poor, women and children.
And Jesus, too, was there.
He said as long as I live, so do you.
You are accused of blasphemy,
of heresy and bestiality.
Your trial will begin tomorrow.
We haven't found anything, Your Excellency.
Have you searched everything? Ripped open the mattresses? The cushions?
Yes, your Excellency. Nothing.
It's this big.
It has to be there somewhere. Keep looking.
What are you going to tell them?
The truth, what else?
You can also tell them something else.
Novice Bartolomea, stand up.
Stand up!
Well.
Sister Felicita, now tell us what you saw.
I have no words to describe these acts.
Do your best.
I saw this girl in carnal embraces
with the mother superior, Benedetta.
Can you be more specific?
They used each other,
each in turn,
like a man with a woman.
And how were you able to witness these acts?
Through a peephole that I myself drilled in the wall of my old bedroom.
And that is not a mortal sin?
Spying on her superior?
Today, we do not judge the former abbess.
How do you know if this woman's statements
are not dictated by jealousy? Or spite?
Sister Felicita's testimony is only the beginning, not the end.
Bartolomea,
What do you have to say to Sister Felicita's accusation?
Is she telling the truth?
- I don't understand. - Sorry?
I don't even understand what she's saying.
Did you look lustfully at Abbess Benedetta?
From one woman to another, it is impossible.
Apparently, this convent widens the horizon of the possible.
Bartolomea,
have you, yes or no, looked at the abbess Benedetta with lust?
With love.
All I feel for Mother Benedetta is love.
The same that I feel for all my sisters.
But you didn't express it, this love,
to your other sisters the same way, right?
No!
Sister Felicita,
by what means, the novice Bartolomea
did she express her love for the Mother Superior?
She used a wooden statuette
of the Blessed Virgin
to penetrate
Benedetta's genitals and make her orgasm.
A wicked crime.
It is a sacrilegious inversion of the natural order.
An abomination that deserves the ultimate punishment:
the pyre.
It's not true. It's not true.
You can still save your soul, my child,
if you confess.
I have nothing to confess, Your Excellency.
If you know, why do you want me to confess?
Your confession will lessen your sin.
You can still spare yourself the stake and Benedetta too.
No.
Undress her.
You can save your soul if you talk.
OK.
I confess. I had horrible thoughts!
Sister Juliana, I hate her! I wanted her to die.
Let me go!
My child,
that is not what we want to hear.
The "Pear of Anguish".
Have you ever seen something like this?
Joan of Arc was a courageous warrior ...
her enemies recognized it.
Yet she confessed her sins
when she was shown the instruments of torture.
No need to pretend you're braver than Joan of Arc.
No need to pretend anything for that matter.
I have already confessed.
I told you I wanted to kill Sister Juliana.
I am guilty of murder.
Have mercy.
I confessed!
We don't know each other yet, you and me,
but we're in the same boat.
The journey can be long,
it can be short.
Let us pray to God to light our way.
No no no!
Come in!
What do you think love is?
I think that...
it is not feeling alone.
It is...
a warmth there.
Do you have sore feet?
Are you, an abbess, washing my feet?
As a novice, I washed them more often than I had to.
Have you never touched a man?
- No. - Why?
Because you are insensitive to a woman's natural desires.
I only desire for God.
Are you trying to seduce me?
Where did you learn these whore's skills?
I don't know much about whore's skills.
And I won't ask you how you know anything about them.
To play with me is to play with fire.
Literally.
I am not afraid.
Sure.
You advance dressed in the armor of light.
Love is the only armor I need.
The love of Christ, is that what you mean?
Or the love of Bartolomea?
Bartolomea's too.
So Jesus must share?
It is with joy that he shares everything.
With all of humanity.
The warmth you mentioned ... there.
It is not love for all of humanity.
It is something special.
Bartolomea is the individual.
And through her, I reach universal love.
The universal reaches you through a small piece of wood?
Stay where you are!
Bartolomea...
I told them you had deceived me.
That you forced me to sin.
Lies from your mouth.
I don't want to suffer for you anymore!
Go to hell!
Are you ready to confess now?
There it is, the proof you're looking for.
Here is your love, Benedetta.
Blasphemy!
You're making fun
of My wife as they made fun of Me on the cross!
Sacrilege!
You have all been judged!
You, Alfonso Giglioli,
you have been judged.
And you will pay for your blasphemy
with your blood, black pus and blisters!
- When did that happen? - An hour ago.
Not a word.
Move her into the basement. Place a guard.
No one should go in or out.
And burn everything she touched.
Keep your head up.
There is one thing I learned from working as a prostitute.
The humiliation leaves no mark.
Thief!
Get her!
Pescia will not let the one who protected her from the plague burn.
The people have nothing to say, the Church decides. Sign.
Nuncio, the child was promised to God from birth ...
My father! Consider your work finished.
I have pity for her. And love.
But pity and love have nothing to do with duty.
The sentence ... is irrevocable.
Excellence?
Yes.
Our sister Benedetta has a request.
She would like to be allowed to pray with Sister Felicita
and to beg her forgiveness.
She would also like
to be carried to the square
on the back of a donkey, as Christ entered Jerusalem.
For the donkey, it's no of course.
But I will allow her to put on her little charade with sister Felicita.
We all have to play our part to the end, right?
Right.
You can go.
Are you happy that I'm dying?
I have come to tell you what Jesus revealed to me:
your daughter is waiting for you with him.
I don't believe a word of it.
But she's not in hell. There's always that.
You gave your life to God without ever believing in him.
Now he should be your comfort and your salvation.
But you are alone in the face of the terror of death.
God never spoke to me like he speaks to you.
He's talking to you right now.
He speaks to you through pain.
So he talks a lot.
But I don't understand what he wants to tell me.
What is it?
What is he telling you?
Do you think I know that?
Maybe, yes.
Yes, you know that.
Yes.
Please tell me.
Tell me...
Tell me.
Benedetta!
Forgive me!
Benedetta!
Benedetta, look at me!
Forgive me! Please.
Tell me you don't hate me.
It's fine. I had to be betrayed.
Death to the nonce!
Set her free!
Let me go!
I grant you the mercy of strangulation.
You will not suffer in the flames.
But you have to make a confession.
Renounce your vanity!
Confess!
I will confess.
Speak!
Poor town of Pescia,
I couldn't save you.
I could not make you renounce evil.
You have betrayed My love!
None of you will be spared!
Death will blow through this town
like a wind that mows down everything in its path.
See!
The Angel of Death stretched out his hands.
Death is here!
It's already walking among you!
Angel of Death!
Show your face!
He's the one who did this to me!
The nuncio!
It was he who brought the plague to Pescia!
On you!
- On your children! - Enough!
To the stake!
Bring her to the stake!
- To the stake! - No!
No! If she dies,
we will all be cursed!
It's the nuncio!
It was the nuncio who brought death!
It is the nuncio that must be burned!
Die!
Untie it!
Run away!
Take the kiss of peace!
Get him!
Benedetta!
Do you want me to pray for the salvation of your soul?
When you died,
did you see the other side?
Jesus showed me the where every soul will go,
past, present and future.
And me,
did you see me in heaven or hell?
In Paradise.
You have lied to the end.
- What are you doing? - I have to go back.
But there's nothing more there.
- Why are you going back? - The convent is my home.
- I swore to spend my life there. - It's all in the past.
Not for me.
We can go anywhere we want now.
- You think so? - Yes, anywhere!
To Rome, Venice, Spain...
And how would we eat?
Would we steal? Would we sell ourselves?
There are worse things. At least you would be alive.
If you go back there, they'll put you back on the stake.
They won't burn me.
Go on! I will be protected.
By who? Your husband, Jesus?
You still don't believe in me?
- After everything you've seen? - Looked.
But I already explained it to you. When God ...
There is nobody, we are alone!
You can admit it, these are stories. Say it!
Say it.
If you care about me, say it.
Say it!
- Why, it's horrible! - Because I don't want you to die.
The people who were there for you yesterday will throw you into the fire.
You're right.
They will tie me to the stake.
They will set it on fire.
The flames will lick me but not burn me.
God won't let them.
And all will see it.
No one will be able to doubt, ever again. Yourself...
you will no longer doubt or fear anything.
And that will be my gift to you.
You're crazy... You're crazy.
You are just a child, Bartolomea.
It's part of your charm.
Go away!
Go away then!
Go to hell!
Let them burn you!
Go away!
The martyrdom was denied to sister Benedetta Carlini.
She lived to be seventy years old, cloistered in the convent of the Theatines.
She could attend mass, and on occasion, have dinner with her sisters, but seated on the floor.
The plague that ravaged the country totally spared the town of Pescia.