Because Catholicism and by extension Christianity are so big and normal I don't think a lot of people consider how strange the Vatican is just conceptually. Like yeah in the capital of a long-dead empire there's an opulent temple district that acts as it's own sovereign nation, still speaking the dead language of that empire for their rituals, ruled by a prophet-king chosen by a secret conclave of the high priesthood. Yeah his followers eat a lot of fish in the spring.
preserving tags from @/why-bless-your-heart but yeah. as a Catholic I can confirm
Very important to add that the dead empire persecuted the practitioners of the faith that this Vicar leads in unimaginably violent and horrifying ways on a mind-boggling scale. And yet here it sits, victorious.
