For first time, 100 secret Vatican documents put on public display in Rome

Washington, Mar.2 (ANI): About 100 secret Vatican documents have been put on public display in Rome for the first time, and six of them are said to be the most intriguing documents in church history.

Normally kept under lock and key and not available to the public, the documents will be on show in the Capitoline Museums until September to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Secret Archives.

According to a Christian Science Monitor report, the priceless documents span more than a millennium, from the 8th century to modern times, and feature a cast of historical characters ranging from Martin Luther and Henry VIII to Galileo and the warrior monks of the Knights Templar.

Among the six most intriguing documents is a letter in French from Mary, Queen of Scots to Pope Sixtus V, which was sent from Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire, England, in November 1586.

In the letter, Mary professes her allegiance to the "universal" Catholic Church of Rome and rails against the falsehoods perpetrated by her enemies in England.

The letter was written a few weeks before her execution for alleged involvement in plots to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. She claimed that the tribunal that condemned her to death was illegitimate and heretical.

One document on show is a letter from members of parliament asking the Pope to grant an annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to his then wife Catherine of Aragon in 1530. The row eventually led to England splitting from the Catholic Church, the Huffington Post (UK) reports. (ANI)