Sister Vincenza Taffarel (d. 1984) was the Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 nun

Nun

A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

 who found the body of Pope John Paul I

Pope John Paul I

John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...

. She was brought in as his housekeeper in one of his very first papal acts, and was the first to find him dead. Sister Vincenza is portrayed by Maroussia Frank in The Last Confession

The Last Confession

The Last Confession is a stage play by Roger Crane based around the election and death of Pope John Paul I. The play follows Giovanni Benelli who recounts, during his last confession, his role in the death of John Paul and how this led him to lose his faith.-Plot:Disturbed by the corruption in...

, a play by Roger Crane.

Controversy

There have been several differing reports on details surrounding the discovery of the pope's death. These views have resulted in several conspiracy theories

Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories

Pope John Paul I died alone in September 1978 only a month after his election to the Papacy. The suddenness of the death, and the Vatican's difficulties with the ceremonial and legal death procedures have resulted in several conspiracy theories.-Rationale:Discrepancies in the Vatican's account of...

 in which Sister Vincenza plays a role. When the report of death was first made, the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 excluded her from the official reports due to possible perceptions of unseemliness resulting from a woman being in the papal apartments

Papal Apartments

The Papal Apartments is the non-official designation for the collection of apartments, both private and state, that wrap around a courtyard on two sides of the third floor of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City in Rome...

 early inside the morning.

There has also been confusion over alleged changes in her story. Sister Vincenza told French reporters the morning after the death that she had discovered the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

's body in the bathroom at 4:45 am. She had entered the room after he had not retrieved his morning coffee that she left outside his door. Later, it was claimed, she was sworn to secrecy about the event by Cardinal Jean Villot, before being sent to a nunnery.