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Although the practice of autopsy on the Pope's corpse was performed from the 16th century, autopsy reports are only rarely analysed, and never with the aim of investigating the real causes of the death from a concomitant medical and historical point of view. Here, for the first time, we report on the discovery of new unpublished documents from the Vatican Secret Archives and their investigation by a scientific and inter-disciplinary approach. This analysis allows us to draw new conclusions on the true cause of Leo XII's mysterious death. His sudden death, that occurred on February 10th, 1829 after a short illness, particularly struck the public. Suspicions of poisoning or surgeon's guilt or inexperience and even the shadow of a venereal disease, contributed to create a "black legend" on his pontificate and death. On the contrary, the present paleopathographic analysis points toward a new conclusion. The regular use of catheterization with a silver syringe provided an easy access for bacterial superinfection, confirmed by the observed early emphysematous stage of the corpse. So, the most substantiated hypothesis concerning the cause of Leo XII's death indicates a severe form of sepsis, exacerbated by a weakened state due to chronic hemorrhoids.

This article shows the pain and desolation of so many galician cities, towns and villages which suffered the violence of the revolutionary hand,specially during the tragic spring of ´36. Its preparation is posible thanks to the oficial opening to the researchers of the documents of the Vatican Secret Archive corresponding to the papacy of Pío XI, by the Pope Benedict XVI. These files sent by Bishops and general Vicars, depending on the circumstances, present outrages, raids and damages, fires, aggressions and inprisonments. The historical or religious sociological indicators which provide the setting for these antireligious outrages, help to comprehend and interpret the presented information and to understand that there really existed a religious persecution under the regime of the II Republic in Galicia. En este artículo se recoge el dolor y la desolación de tantas ciudades, villas y aldeas gallegas, que padecieron la violencia de la zarpa revolucionaria, especialmente durante la primavera “trágica” del 36. Su elaboración es posible gracias a la apertura oficial a los investigadores de los documentos del Archivo Secreto Vaticano correspondientes al pontificado de Pío XI, por el Papa Benedicto XVI. Estos informes enviados por obispos, vicarios generales o vicarios capitulares, según las circunstancias, presentan desmanes, asaltos y destrozos, incendios, agresiones y encarcelamientos. Los indicadores históricos o de sociología religiosa que enmarcan estos desmanes antirreligiosos, ayudan a comprender e interpretar los datos expuestos y a entender que realmente existió una persecución religiosa bajo el régimen de la II República en Galicia.