The True Story Behind 'Kidnapped by the Pope' Drama 'In the Name of the Son'

In 1858, one of the most shocking anti-Jewish incidents in modern European history unfolded in Italy. Edgardo Mortara, a seven-year-old Jewish boy from Bologna, was taken from his parents by envoys of the Pope and separated from his family. The case triggered an international uproar and became a lasting symbol of the clash between religious authority and family rights.

According to the account behind the story, Mortara had been secretly baptized as an infant by his Christian nanny, who feared he might die during a serious illness. Under Catholic Church law at the time, any baptized child was considered Christian, even if born and raised in a Jewish home. When the truth came to light years later, the authorities of the Papal State sent soldiers to the Mortara home and told the parents their son could not remain in a Jewish household. Despite their pleas, he was removed and placed in Church institutions.

His parents, Solomon and Marianna Mortara, fought for years to bring him back. They appealed to political leaders, mobilized public support, and turned the affair into a recurring subject in European and American newspapers. Jewish communities around the world joined the campaign, and even non-Jewish figures were shocked by the case. Pope Pius IX refused to compromise, insisting that once baptized, the Church had a duty to raise the boy as a Catholic. Mortara later became a priest.

The affair is now seen by historians as one of the episodes that helped weaken the Papal State’s standing in 19th-century Europe. Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio, who has worked for more than six decades and won a lifetime Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2021, turned the story into the film “In the Name of the Son.” The movie screened in Israel recently and competed in Cannes’ official selection, where it drew critical praise.