Shocking and Terrifying True Story – Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara

Feb 24, 2026 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Two Sues on the Aisle, Susie Rosenbluth and Sue Weston

In 1851, Edgardo Levi Mortara was born to Italian Jewish merchants in Bologna, Italy. Six years later, Edgardo was taken by the Pope’s soldiers from his home to be raised by the Catholic Church. Marco Bellocchio’s film Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara is based on a true story of a child taken from an observant Jewish family without explanation. The boy is secretly rushed to Rome to live under the watchful eye of Pope Pius IX, along with other boys who had similarly been removed from their families. Despite being educated, wealthy, and influential in the community, the Mortara family was powerless to reclaim their son.

Edgardo was abducted because of a former housekeeper’s claim that she had secretly baptized him. Papal law was unquestionable. Any child baptized, no matter under what conditions or to what faith a family that child was born the child is a Christian and must receive a Catholic education. The Church made it illegal for Christian children to be raised by anyone belonging to another faith – even their own family. (The Catholic Church had forbidden Jewish families from hiring Catholic workers, but the Mortara family did not follow that rule.)

Heart-Wrenching and Powerful

Watching the Mortara family beg for their son is a parent’s worst nightmare. They had to face an inflexible, biased court system governed by the Catholic Church, led by a menacing Grand Inquisitor. The terms were clear – the only way for the Mortara family to be reunited would be for them to convert. Yet even this was not guaranteed.

Edgardo, who had to be dragged kicking and screaming away from his mother, slowly became part of the Church community. He was an intelligent child who had been raised to be obedient. Before bed every night, he had prayed with his mother. She who told him to continue praying and never forget who he was. Initially, he did, reciting silently. But his childhood memories faded.

Over the years, Edgardo changed, becoming like the other seminarians, assimilating. He grew to believe in Christian doctrine, saying, ‘It was not against my wish that I left my home’. Later, when Edgardo became a Priest, he believed he needed to convert his family to Christianity for their eternal salvation. He is shown at his dying mother’s bedside, begging her to convert. She refused.

The Power of Religion

Director Marco Bellocchio shows how easily the Pope justifies kidnapping in the name of religion. In 1850, the Church’s rule was law, and the Pope had unquestioned power. When the Pope demanded that the Jews come for an audience, bow, and kiss his feet (they did).

While Jewish families had little recourse and no way to resist, Eduardo’s family never stopped fighting and hoping for his safe return. They even challenged that the initial baptism had been performed. But, in the eyes of the Church, it did not matter.

The Mortara case attracted international attention, and yet, the power of the Church was unshakable. Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara shows the danger of having too much power, especially when used in the name of religion to oppress.

Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara is hauntingly realistic. The messaging was eerily familiar. In light of today’s polarizing antisemitic sentiment, this story takes on a new relevance.

Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs (1-5) it pays to buy (rather than make) to see the play, show, film, book, or exhibit being reviewed.

Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara received 4 Challahs

Runtime: 134 minutes; Languages: Italian and Hebrew with English Subtitles