The Vatican City: Head of the Catholic Faith (Fin)

[Vatican City: Catholic Church]

Paolo De Cristiano


"I am the Spokesman of God on Earth. Don't bug me."

Ave Maria

Gratia plena

Country: Vatican City, aka The Freakin' Catholic Church

Human name: Paolo de Cristiano

Apparent age: 60s before they went back, 30 nowadays

Gender: male (no surprise there)

Appearance: Awakening in 1500 has done wonders for Paolo's appearance. No longer a semi-feeble old man, he is well-built and healthy. He now has wavy brown hair which stops just below his shoulders. He typically wears it in a loose ponytail if he's going to be working. At home or on his off day it'll be down and messy. Paolo has a sharp, Italian beak of a nose that has been broken a few times in his fights against Turkey, Greece, the Muslims, Rome...you get the idea. Though most people forget, thanks to his attitude and clothing, that he is a fighting nation, he is just that and has the scars to prove it. His back was turned into mince meat by Rome before the empire decided he'd rather have Paolo on his side. Because Protestantism hasn't broken out yet, he doesn't carry the long scar from his throat to his navel he's borne for centuries. His build is solid, wiry, and muscular and only looks bigger than it really is. Blame his robes.

He has bright, piercing blue eyes that see right through you framed by long, thin eyebrows, and a full beard. What he wears is entirely dependent upon the situation. Most days, he happily walks around in his priestly or brother garb, the bible on his belt and his rosary around his neck. For more formal occasions, he dresses as a high-ranking cardinal. He's also been known to dress as a lowly servant or janitor, happily cleaning the Basilica (hasn't been created yet *sadface*) or the many chapels. In the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the occasional lucky tour group would have him as a guide and never be the wiser.

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Ave, ave dominus

Dominus tecum

Strengths:

• Guilt trips: Paolo is a master of guilt trips. It's pretty much his main skill. He's also very hard on himself and gives himself guilt trips.
  
  
• Leadership: For centuries, he was the beacon of civilization in the West and it showed. He was the one to start the Crusades and that scary witch scare. It's not his fault everyone let it get so out of hand.
  
  
• Charisma: Despite being based on a religion, Paolo is still going strong and converting new people to his cause/banner.
  
  
• Adaptability: Once Paolo realized he would never be a military/governmental power again, he turned to humanitarian and peace causes, trying to better the world through such actions rather than outright conversion.
  
  
• Influence: He has a lot of it, being the head of the Catholic Church. Basically, he has a hand in everyone's pie (save those heretics and infedels but we won't there)
  

Weaknesses:

• Stubborn: It's very, very hard to get Paolo to change his mind on something. It almost takes divine intervention most of the time. Add to that that he's a traditionalist at heart and well...sometimes it's hard for him to catch up with the times.
  
  
• Willfully blind: Basically, if he doesn't want to see it, it doesn't happen until someone shoves it in his face and refuses to let him leave until he sees the light.
  
  
• Tendency to sulk: Often ties into the denial aspect and can get rather reclusive when in these periods.
  
  
• Temper: Remember the Crusades and the witch hunts? Not yhis finer moments.
  
  
• Denial: He's very good at it.
  
  

Personality: Paolo is an interesting character. Spending his early years under Rome's sword hardened and strengthened his faith, to the point that while he occasionally questions it, it's more questioning the methods of expression rather than the religion itself. It also formed the basis of his stubborn, unyielding personality. He is usually very good with older people and young children, though he prefers to deal with well-behaved, quiet children rather than the loud, boisterous ones. Those wear him out quickly. Overall, he's a strict, fatherly figure.

One thing needs to be addressed really quickly: Paolo has been celibate most of his life (despite what the authority figures in his nation have been doing) because he is a deeply (now transparently) closeted homosexual and he's been wrestling with it all his life. He's never come to a truly satisfactory conclusion. He used to self-mutilate (well, mostly whip) whenever he consciously realized he was eyeing a guy. Nowadays, he prefers burying anything to do with sexual/romantic implications and just say a few rosaries for lying.

Anyway, Paolo is at the age where he's so old he doesn't give much of a crap what other people think of him. He prefers being respected but he long ago outgrew the 'convert the whole world and turn them into my underlings' phase. Instead, he uses the influence he's gained over the years to guilt the other nations to helping whatever cause he deems fit, mostly humanitarian aid. That isn't to say that he doesn't sometimes long for the days when he was a solid power but he's smart enough to know those days weren't exactly good for most people.

Vatican is a loyal friend, who tries to be just and fair. He has lofty ideals and knows that most of the time he comes nowhere near to practicing what he preaches (and preach he can, though he prefers short, to the point lectures than three hour long tirades) but he never stops trying. He knows that he's failed and that he has a lot to make up for. He also too easily blinds himself or abuses his power in his quest to make the world a better place. He doesn't like having his failures thrust into his face, and will get quite grouchy and rather mean towards the one doing so. He knows, thank you very much (or doesn't want to know), you don't have to rub his face in it.

Mostly, Paolo hates seeing people/nations in poverty or persecuted and wants to change that. In his eyes, peace will only come through hard work and diligence. And he feels it is his duty to help keep the peace between the other nations now to work for a better future.

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Benedicta tu in mulieribus

Et benedictus fructus ventris
Ventris tuae, Jesus.

Family: The Italies and Rome(as dysfunctional as the last was), all Catholics are his children

Friends: France, pretty much anyone though Russia, Greece, and Turkey have a bit of a problem with him (due to being Eastern Orthodox and the first to split from the church, Vatican still hasn't quite forgiven England for leaving the Church)

History:
Paolo doesn't remember much of his early days. He doesn't even remember when, exactly, he came into being.

His first clear memory is traveling the Mediterranean with a rather eccentric man. Under the man's tutelage, Paolo quickly grew into a young man, around nine or ten. Once the man died, Paolo struck out on his own for a little while. A little while being all of two seconds before Rome snatched him up.

Life under Rome alternated between just bearable and horrible. The Empire hated Paolo quite a bit and Paolo counted himself lucky if the day passed without his attracting Rome's attention. Rome had him do various jobs: serve him, both in his house and on the battle field, entertain him (which mostly consisted of throwing Paolo to the lions and letting them battle it out). When he angered Rome, the results weren't pretty. Paolo spent many a night unable to cry at the pain for fear of more. No matter what Rome did, though, Paolo continued to quietly defy him, praying to his God and savior, the savior of the man who educated him. Day after day, night after night, he prayed that this would end, that he and his people could just be left alone. This time period really shaped Paolo's entire life and, in many ways, foreshadowed what would come.

Just when it seemed nothing would ever change and Paolo was about ready to give up hope, he had a dream. He saw his old mentor, smiling and happy. Paul ruffled the young nation's hair (he was still growing despite Rome) and said, "It's just a little longer, kid. Hang in there. I'm proud of you." Paolo awoke with tears in his eyes, his strength and faith renewed. He wasn't happy, but he knew now he could take it, knew now that he would win Rome's little contest of wills.

It took a few years, sixty years of the cruelest treatment yet, as a matter of fact, but his mentor's prophecy came true. On October 28, 312, Rome roughly awoke him one day, thrust a shield and sword in his hand, and sent him into battle. Into a real battle, against real enemies. Covering Rome's back, the two fought long and hard that day but triumphed.

From that day on, Paolo was not only accepted but openly welcomed and even relied upon by Rome. Rome even gave several younger nations into Paolo's keeping when he was off conquering or fighting (whether he did a good job raising them or not is up for debate). Years passed and Rome eventually died and faded away. Paolo surprised himself by mourning the loss. But he was strong for the younger nations, trying to unite them and keep them from killing each other. He did this in a variety of ways, the most noteable being the Crusades against the Muslims (to this day he declares they started it). Paolo helped preserve civility and civilization during the darkest period of European history. He helped fight against invaders, when he could, established orders to try to convert and help the nations, you name it, he did it.

Did he get a bit high on his power? Probably. Did he do things he now regrets? Absolutely. Even so, the Reformation was the beginning of his 'decline' and it hit him hard. He was in bed, ill, for a couple of years, and, seeing his children try to discard him hurt. When Spain came and took him hostage, it truly hit him, how powerless he really was. And it angered him. Here he'd sacrificed and cared for and raised all these whelps and this was how they repaid him? He fought with every means available to him for years against the decline of his influence, including but not limited to aiding in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire.

By the 1700s, Paolo had finally decided (a century or so late but better late than never) to embrace scientific and free thought, to use it rather than fight it. Though his physical power was severely lacking, by this time he looked to be in his late forties, Paolo was busier than ever, sustaining himself by traveling the world, thanks to Spain and his own initiative. He aided and converted what countries he could, slowly focusing more on aiding than converting. As time passed, he figured out how to use his influence more, replacing intimidation and fighting, and more wisely.

1929 finally gave Paolo his own jurisdiction, a place to call home that no one could ever take from him. World War II was one of the worst tests of his faith, his priests and nuns and people being worked to death/murdered. He did his best to help, hiding the Jews when he could. Those six years aged him to his sixties. The next few years were quiet and just when Paolo was enjoying himself, along came the scandals that rocked the world. He himself had no idea what had been going on and was just as outraged as his people that it was happening. Obviously he once again had to take the reins of his country if he wanted something fixed.

2010 and later saw Paolo taking command of his country. Once his current boss died, he took over, trying to right the wrongs of the past and continue the good his people were doing. As things steadily became worse, Vatican became a rock in the time of crisis, helping every nation he could regardless of creed or relation. He tried to find cures to the disease and help keep the countries united and focused. Once the entire world was flung into the past, Vatican merely shrugged and went on his way. He's seen stranger things.

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Ave Maria, Mater Dei

Ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae

[ OOC ]

Name: TLO, Iceland

Age: 21, almost 22

Experience: I have been RPing Iceland for a few months and RPing in other circles for years

Contact: PM please, you guys have my email if you really need to reach me.

Anything else?: Jens Bjorneboe

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Amen

Ave Maria

This template was originally created by oli and tampered by Ophelia for Hetalia: True Destiny. Quotes are from the Catholic ballad "Ave Maria."

Read more: www.distorted-destiny.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=characterapps&action=display&thread=6#ixzz19Gi9ff9s

[Konungariket Sverige]

VERY GOOD. Thanks for teaching me about Vatican's history there. andomgavemaria. sometimes i regret not taking latin.

ACCEPTED.