Voynich buys some Jesuit manuscripts

[ReneZ]

Elsewhere, I wrote:

that the manuscripts were sold by the Jesuits because the Villa Mondragone needed funds for restoration works, is a myth, and I admit that I also believed this in the past, but there is no basis for it.

And Rich answered:

Yes I've long believed this, and this was the topic for a recent conversation I had with someone. That person had shown several picture postcards and other images of the Villa at the time, and it was clear they were doing quite well.

Indeed, I had also been approached by that person.
The postcards (and many more) can be found by a Google search for "convitto Mondragone" and go to the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. . 

I was curious and tried to find where this idea came from, that the reason for the sale was that the Villa needed money for restorations. However I couldn't find it in the most obvious places: D'Imperio, Tiltman, or Kraus' autobiography.
Kraus was the one who named the Villa Mondragone, and this fact may be found in Tiltman's paper about the MS. It's a bit of a mystery, and right now I wonder if this is just someone's speculation that has become part of the tradition.

Notably, modern Jesuit historians clearly state that this isn't true, and they even argue that these manuscripts were never in Villa Mondragone, but the true place is still not known.