Pope approved secret €1m bid to free kidnapped nun from al-qaeda, Vatican court hears

POPE FRANCIS personally approved a secret €1million (£860,000) contract with a British security firm to free a kidnapped nun, a trial into alleged corruption within the Holy See has heard.

The bombshell disclosure emerged from a Vatican court, where Cardinal Angelo Becciu, once a trusted aide to the Pope, and self-styled intelligence expert Cecilia Marogna are on trial. The pair are accused of misappropriating Vatican funds, with Ms Marogna, 41, allegedly spending huge amounts on handbags and holidays.

But the pair say the money, channelled to Ms Marogna through bank accounts in Slovenia, was intended to pay for the release of nuns and priests kidnapped by criminal or militant groups around the world.

Cardinal Becciu, 73, said he had the blessing of the Pope when he contacted London-based security firm the Inkerman Group in a bid to free Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez, a Colombian nun who had been kidnapped by al-qaeda-linked militants in Mali in 2017.

He told the court that he hired Ms Marogna as an external security consultant, saying she had contacts with senior Italian secret service officers. He denied rumours that they were lovers, saying that such insinuations were “harmful to my priestly dignity”.

The company refused to respond to any questions when contacted by The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

Established in 1996, the firm says on its website that it offers “bespoke risk and intelligence services to organisations throughout the world”.

Cardinal Becciu told the Vatican tribunal that the Pope instructed him to divulge the plan to no one else, not even the head of the Vatican’s gendarmerie.

The cardinal said the Pope was worried about the Vatican’s reputation if the plot was leaked, as most Western states claim that they do not pay ransoms to terrorist groups.

“In a meeting with the Holy Father, [I] spoke to him in more detail about the conversation we had with the Inkermans and the sum that we should have estimated in broad terms: about [€1 million],” the cardinal told the court.

“Every step of this operation was agreed with the Holy Father,” he added.

Cardinal Becciu is accused of embezzlement, abuse of office and inducing a witness to perjury.

He denies all charges.

Ms Marogna is charged with embezzlement and denies any wrongdoing.