A centuries-old papal decree has been recovered from a home in Sevilla after disappearing without trace decades ago.

The original document, issued during the reign of Pope Pius V, had been missing for decades and was recovered from the home of a local resident following a two-year Guardia Civil investigation.

The original 16th-century papal bull was found in El Viso del Alcor and has now been authenticated using records held by the Vatican.

A papal bull is an official document issued by a pope to communicate or grant a decision of particular importance.

This document was awarded to the parish of Santa Maria del Alcor during the pontificate of Pope Pius V.

It is linked to Fernando Arias de Saavedra, the seventh Lord of El Viso and fourth Count of Castellar, as well as his participation alongside a group of local men in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

The battle saw the fleet of the Holy League inflict a major defeat on the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece.

Stories about the papal bull had been passed down through generations in El Viso del Alcor.

However, its whereabouts had remained unknown for decades, leading some to question whether it had ever existed and whether its historic significance had been exaggerated.

The Guardia Civil opened an investigation in October 2024 to establish what had happened to the document, locate it and determine whether it was genuine.

Officers began reconstructing its history and searching for references that could reveal where it had ended up.

They found mentions of the bull in several publications, including an article published in 2000 and another that appeared in a local cultural association’s magazine in May 2025.

Both included a graphical representation of the historic document.

The evidence eventually led investigators to suspect that a resident of El Viso del Alcor could have the missing item in his possession.

After being questioned by officers, the man voluntarily handed over a folded parchment that he had been keeping inside his home on September 2.

According to the Guardia Civil, he said he knew the document was historically valuable and had taken it home to protect and preserve it.

He reportedly insisted that he had never intended to make money from the item.

The recovered parchment was temporarily transferred to the Provincial Historical Archive of Sevilla, where specialists conducted a technical examination.

Experts found that its materials, handwriting and graphical features were consistent with an original papal document produced during the second half of the 16th century under Pope Pius V.

Investigators then obtained a copy of the bull’s original registry entry from the Vatican Apostolic Archive.

Comparing the two records confirmed the parchment’s authenticity and established that it was the same historic document that had vanished decades earlier.

The discovery has restored an important part of El Viso del Alcor’s historical memory.

The story of the bull and the town’s association with the Battle of Lepanto have continued to feature in local cultural events and historical re-enactments.

These have included recreations of the return of the local men who fought at Lepanto and the presentation of the papal document.

The investigation was carried out by officers from the UPRONA investigation unit and the Judicial Police’s heritage team at the Guardia Civil headquarters in Sevilla.