Mortara case 1858, a Jewish child is taken from his parents on the orders of the Inquisition

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

1. On 23 June 1858 at ten o'clock in the evening, papal soldiers under a Swiss officer came to the house of the Mortara family in Bologna and took six-year-old Edgar away. The parents were told that the order came from the Holy Office and had to be obeyed.
   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case

   „A force of papal soldiers commanded by a Swiss officer went to the house of the Mortara family June 23, 1858, at ten o'clock at night“

   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case

   „They were told in reply that the order presented was one of the Holy Office, and must be complied with, so the child was taken from them.“

How were they charged and sentenced?

1. A former maid of the family, Anna Morisi, had confessed to a priest that she had secretly baptised the child during an illness about four years earlier. The priest reported this to Rome; the Congregation of the Inquisition ordered the child to be taken from his parents by force and brought up as a Christian. The case never came before an impartial court.
   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case

   „the Congregation of the Inquisition gave orders that the child be taken forcibly from his parents and that he be educated as a Christian“

   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case

   „the matter was never brought before an impartial court of justice“

2. The parents argued that the maid had acted out of revenge and that the child had never been seriously ill; this had no effect.
   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case

   „Their attempt to obtain his release on the ground that Anna Morisi had acted out of spite“

What happened to those affected?

1. Even in 1859 and 1870 the parents did not get their son back. He was brought up in a monastery and, according to the Jewish Encyclopedia, was often led through the ghetto to annoy the Jews; later he entered the Augustinian order and took the religious name Pius.
   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case, Vain Attempts at Recovery

   „He was educated in a convent, and often was paraded in the ghetto for the purpose of annoying the Jews.“

   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case, Vain Attempts at Recovery

   „Later young Mortara entered the Augustine order, adopting the convent name Pius“

2. In 1867 Pius IX is said to have told the boy: "I have bought thee, my son, for the Church at a very high price."
   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case, Vain Attempts at Recovery

   „"I have bought thee, my son, for the Church at a very high price"“

3. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the father, who died in 1871, became the target of clerical hostility: he was accused of having thrown a maid out of the window; he spent a long time in prison before he was released.
   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case, Vain Attempts at Recovery

   „His father, who died in 1871, became the target for clerical rancor.“

   Evidence: Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), Artikel Mortara Case, Vain Attempts at Recovery

   „was compelled to spend a long time in prison before he was finally discharged“