Cardinal bishop Peter Damian (c.1007–1073) was a strong advocate for the prayers of the monks of Cluny, but he believed that the souls of the sinful dead could also be freed from torment by the intercession of the saints. The following ghost story is unusual in two respects. First, the ghost in question was a lesbian in life, who admitted that she had disgraced herself in her youth “by succumbing to wanton lust with girls my own age” and suffered in the afterlife because she forgot to confess these sins to her priest. Second, the intercessory prayer of the monks plays no role in the release of her soul. Rather, it is the arbitrary mercy of the Virgin Mary, the queen of the world, that has freed a veritable city of departed Christians from torment. The shades of the souls she has redeemed lingered in Rome for one last night on earth to pay their respects to the Virgin in churches dedicated to her throughout the city before embracing the eternal rest that her mercy has won for them.
A very devout priest named John related to me an event that happened in Rome a few years ago, which I will tell you in turn. On the feast of the Assumption of Mary, the blessed mother of God [August 15], the Roman people according to their custom devote themselves to prayers and litanies throughout the night and with lanterns lit visit churches in many parts of the city. In the basilica on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to the honor of the same blessed Virgin, a certain woman caught sight of her godmother, who had died almost a year before. Because she was unable to get close enough to speak with her due to the vast number of people crowding together in the church, she resolved to wait for her godmother on the corner of a narrow lane, where there was no doubt that the old woman could not escape her notice as she left the basilica. As her godmother walked past, the woman spoke to her in haste, “Are you not my godmother Marozia, who recently died?” she asked (for that was the name of her godmother while she lived). The old woman responded, “Yes, I am.” “So how are you doing now?” the young woman asked. Her godmother said, “Until today a heavy punishment oppressed me because I had disgraced myself in my youth by succumbing to the enticement of wanton lust with girls my own age. And I am sad to say that for some reason I forgot about this and even though I went to the priest for confession, I did not receive his judgment on this sin. But today the queen of the world answered our prayers and freed me with many others from those places of punishment, and such a great multitude of souls has on this day been rescued from torment by her intervention that their number exceeds the entire population of the city of Rome. For this reason, we are visiting the holy places dedicated to our glorious lady all over the city to show our thanks most joyfully for the great benefits of her mercy.” Since the godmother could not tell if the young woman believed her story, she added, “So that you believe without a doubt that my story is true, know that a year from today, on this very same feast day, you will most certainly die. But if you live any longer, which is not possible, you will prove that I was clearly a liar.” And once she spoke these words, the godmother vanished before the young woman’s eyes. Soon thereafter the young woman donned sackcloth and mindful of what she had heard concerning her impending death, she began to live her life more prudently. What more is there to say? After nearly a year had passed, on the vigil of the Assumption she became sick and on the day of the feast itself she died, just as her godmother had told her. Here we should note and consider with fear that this woman suffered punishment for a sin which she had forgotten until the virgin Mother of God intervened on her behalf.