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- For the country itself, see The Papal State.
- For the government form, see Papacy.
The institution of the Papacy is the religious center of the Catholic faith and a moral authority for all Catholic nations. It is 'located' in the Papal States, but is separate from the country and can reform elsewhere by event if the country no longer exists, via event for any Catholic theocracy with more than one province. Cardinals now appear at random or appear via events in provinces with at least 10 Development. Each country can have at most 7 cardinals. One nation is designated the current Papal Controller, also known as the Curia Controller, earning bonuses and able to use its power diplomatically (see below).
The Papacy can be disabled if Byzantium restores the pentarchy.
A new Curia Controller is elected whenever the Pope (ruler of the Papal State) dies.
When this happens, every country that has at least 10 invested influence can be chosen as Curia Controller in accordance with a formula:

Current chance is displyed in the Chance column in the Papacy view.
The Curia Controller will gain the following bonuses:[1]
 |
+1% |
Diplomats
|
 |
+1% |
Yearly prestige
|
 |
−10% |
Stability cost modifier
|
 |
+2% |
Possible advisors
|
 |
−20% |
Advisor cost
|
 |
+1% |
Leader(s) without upkeep
|
 |
−20% |
Aggressive expansion impact
|
 |
−5% |
Technology cost
|
 |
10% |
Clergy loyalty equilibrium
|
- Can break royal marriages without the -1 stability hit.
- Special diplomatic actions (listed under papal actions) available during the
Age of Discovery and
Age of Reformation
The Curia controller gains several diplomatic actions available for use during the
Age of Discovery and
Age of Reformation. As a base requirement, these actions require the
Papal States (if exists) to have a negative
opinion of the targeted nations.
Excommunication requires the targeted nation to be Catholic, and for the Papal States to have a negative opinion of them and for them to have at most 50.0 papal influence[2] (note: Papal actions are located under diplomacy menu). The targeted nation cannot be the Defender of the Faith. If the Papal States do not exist the negative opinion requirement is waived and the Curia Controller can excommunicate any Catholic ruler that is not the Defender of the Faith. Excommunication gives every neighbouring Catholic nation a casus belli against the targeted nation. It can be lifted if the curia controller has good relations with the excommunicated nation.
Excommunication penalties
−2 Yearly prestige
−10 Yearly papal influence
−5 Yearly devotion
−3 Tolerance of the True Faith
−50 Relation with Catholic nations
−200 Relation with Catholic theocracies
The Curia controller can also call a crusade against a single target (note: Papal actions are located under diplomacy menu). This target must be a heathen and the Papal States must have an opinion of -50 or below of the target. Catholic nations that border the crusade target receive a Casus Belli against it, and all Catholic nations at war with the crusade target receive bonuses to manpower, morale, prestige and yearly papal influence while they are at war with them, controls at least 1 province owned by the crusade target and the Army Maintenance slider is at maximum. Crusades may no longer be called as of the
Age of Absolutism, but if a crusade called before it starts hasn't expired yet, it will continue to stay in effect until 30 years have passed since its start, as before. However, the Curia controller can extend this period using a golden bull.
Crusade bonuses:
+30% National manpower modifier
+10% National tax modifier
+10% Morale of armies
+1 Yearly prestige
+1 Yearly papal influence
+0.25 Yearly devotion
The Curia is the administrative body of the Catholic Church overseen by a group of cardinals. There are 49 seats in the Curia, and a new cardinal will be inducted on the first day of each year should any seat be empty. New cardinals are randomly selected from among the Catholic provinces of Catholic nations. Cardinals are loyal to the Catholic ruler who has ownership of their province, so it is possible to earn the allegiance of more cardinals through conquest. The primary benefit of controlling more cardinals is to increase one's papal influence. Per cardinal controlled, you gain 0.5 Papal Influence per year. If you have more than 7 cardinals, you only get Papal influence from 7 of them. And via events, your controlled cardinal number rapidly falls to 7.
The top ten Catholic provinces in Catholic nations except
The Papal State will compete for empty seats in the Curia. The chance of a cardinal being picked from any province can be seen in the tooltip over the Active Cardinals ribbon in the papacy interface. Factors that affect cardinal selection chance are as follows:
- Development of candidate province must be at least 10
- Total provincial base tax of all Catholic provinces owned by nation (worth more)
- Total provincial base tax of all non-Catholic provinces owned by nation (worth less)
- Number of cardinals already controlled by nation
The selection of cardinals tends to favor countries whose wealth is concentrated in a few valuable provinces, rather than spread out over many poorer ones.
Cardinals can be elected from every Catholic province except provinces in colonial regions. Cardinals can be selected from vassals.
- If you conquer a province with a cardinal - you get the cardinal.
- The event “Cardinal Across the Border” can cause a cardinal to move from one province to another.
- The Papal State can purchase cardinals for itself with ducats in the Papacy.
- The Papal State can appoint a cardinal to another state using the papal actions diplomatic action using either their own money or the Curia Treasury if they are the Papal Controller.
Every month all Catholic countries provide a tithe of 10% of the money collected by their Clergy Estate which is paid into the Curia coffers. Buying Indulgence for your sins, or 10 Invested Influence as the Papal State, adds 25% of the cost into the coffers. This money can be used by any Curia Controller to purchase the Golden Bulls. In addition if the Papal State is the controller they can spend money from the coffers to reduce Catholic Reform Desire by 5% for 500 ducats.
Papal influence is earned by all Catholic countries except for
The Papal State. A country can store at most 200 papal influence.[3] It can be spent in exchange for various benefits.
The change in papal influence is:
- converting a province gives papal influence on completion equal to the development of the converted province.
Also the following ideas increase the yearly papal influence:
|
Traditions
|
Ideas
|
Bonuses
|
Policies
|
+2.0
|
- Italian (minor) traditions
- Liège traditions
- Nivernais traditions
- Tuscan traditions
|
- Religious idea 4: Devoutness
- Breton idea 4: Breton Catholicism
- Clanricarde idea 6: Catholic Holdouts
- Jerusalem idea 2: Latin Patriarch
- Rigan idea 1: Legacy of Bishop Albert
- Spanish idea 1: Devout Catholicism
- Utrecht idea 2: Ex Cathedra
|
- Knights Hospitaller ambition
|
—
|
+1.0
|
- Münster traditions
- Wurzburgian traditions
|
- Bavarian idea 4: Establish the Geistlicher Rat
- Clevian idea 3: Avid Reformers
- Ferraran idea 1: Papal Recognition
- Icelandic idea 3: Christian Identity
- Irish idea 4: Loyal Catholics
- Livonian Knight idea 4: Baptizers of Terra Mariana
- Moravian idea 6: Jesuit University
- Otomo idea 5: Christian Converts
- Sardinian idea 2: Papal Restoration
- Sardinian-Piedmontese idea 3: The Shroud of Turin
- Savoyard idea 2: The Shroud of Turin
- Teutonic idea 4: Assume Religious Authority
- Trierian idea 5: The Seamless Robe of Jesus
- Tyrone idea 5: Catholic Diplomacy
- Urbinate idea 6: Papal Loyalty
|
—
|
- Divine-Diplomatic: Faith Advisors
|
+0.5
|
—
|
- Sienese idea 6: The Saints of Siena
|
—
|
—
|
Additionally, implemented decisions and events can give gains or losses to papal influence. One of the possible bribes for a seat in Parliament is Send Delegation to Holy See, which will buy that seat's vote at a cost of 10 papal influence.
The yearly change of papal influence is affected by the opinion of the Papal state towards a country, namely by 0.5% times this opinion. If the Papal state does not exist, this modifier is always zero.

Papal influence can be spent in the following manner:
Action |
Prerequisites |
Papal Influence cost |
Effect
|
Invest influence
|
- Has at least
1 cardinal
|
5 + 0.5 * current influence |
Gain +10 influence towards election of next Curia controller
|
Levy church tax
|
- Is at peace with
The Papal State
- Does not have the modifier “Papal Sanction for Increased Taxes”
|
50 |
Gain the “Papal Sanction for Increased Taxes” modifiers for 20 years:
-10% Construction Cost
+15% National Tax Modifier
|
Bless ruler
|
- Is at peace with
The Papal State
- Does not have the modifier “Papal Blessing”
|
50 |
Gain the “Papal Blessing” modifier for 20 years:
+10% Morale of Armies
+1 Yearly Prestige
|
Sanction Dynasty
|
- Is at peace with
The Papal State
- Does not have the modifier “Papal Sanction for our Dynasty”
|
50 |
Gain the “Papal Sanction for our Dynasty” modifier for 20 years:
+1 Yearly Legitimacy
+1 Yearly horde unity
+1 Yearly meritocracy
+1 Yearly devotion
+0.2 Yearly republican tradition
+10% Improve Relations
|
Beatify local saint
|
|
100 |
Gain 1 Stability
|
Forgive usury
|
- Is at peace with
The Papal State
- Does not have the modifier “Usury Forgiven”
|
50 |
Gain the “Usury Forgiven” modifier for 20 years:
+0.1 Yearly Inflation Reduction
-0.25 Interest Per Annum
-0.04 Yearly Corruption
|
Proclaim holy war
|
- Is at war
- Is at peace with
The Papal State
- Does not have the modifier “Papal Sanction of War”
|
50 |
Gain the “Papal Sanction of War” modifier for 20 years:
+15% Manpower Recovery Speed
-5% Land Maintenance Modifier
|
Send papal legate
|
- Is at peace with
The Papal State
- Does not have the modifier “Papal Legate”
- Is not Curia Controller.
|
50 |
Gain the “Papal Legate” modifier for 20 years:
+1 Diplomatic Reputation
-10% Diplomatic Annexation Cost
|
Sanction commercial monopoly
|
|
50 |
Gain 1% Mercantilism
|
Golden Bulls are bonuses that the Papal Controller can enact using the Curia Coffers that benefits all Catholic Countries! They last until the current Pope dies.
Enacting a golden bull costs 400
out of the curia treasury.[3]
The Council of Trent models the friction between Catholic and other Christian faiths during the reformation.
The system is initiated by counter-reformation event. At which point all nations with cardinals get a follow-up event (The Council of Trent) asking them to select a national position.
The position of all Catholic countries is neutral. Nations with a cardinal may choose a position at the start of the council. Whenever a new ruler comes into power a nation may change its position, but can not be neutral again.
Harsh position
|
Neutral position
|
Conciliatory position
|
+25% Resistance to reformation
−10 Opinion of heretics
+2% Missionary strength
−25% Institution spread
|
−33% Resistance to reformation
|
+25% Resistance to reformation
+5 Opinion of heretics
−5% Heretic missionary strength
+25% Improve relations
|
The curia controller may select a number of concessions to either the conciliatory or harsh sides. Enacting these concessions costs between
500 and 2000 depending on how many nations have the same nation position as the concession being enacted. Note that the "Opinion of heretics" modifier applies to all non-Catholics, not just Protestant and Reformed.
#
|
Harsh
|
Conciliatory
|
1
|
Heresy Trials |
−10 Opinion of heretics
+2% Missionary strength vs heretics
|
Secret Confessions |
+5 Opinion of heretics
+2 Tolerance of heretics
|
2
|
Roman Catechism |
−10 Opinion of heretics
+30% Institution spread in true faith provinces
|
Non-Latin Bible |
+5 Opinion of heretics
+10% Institution spread
|
3
|
Soldiers of Christ |
−10 Opinion of heretics
+10% Manpower in true faith provinces
|
Rescinding Celibacy |
+5 Opinion of heretics
+5% National manpower modifier
|
4
|
Catholic Mysticism |
−10 Opinion of heretics
−10% War score cost vs other religions
|
Sola Fide |
+5 Opinion of heretics
−10% Curia powers cost
|
- ↑ See in /Europa Universalis IV/common/static_modifiers/00_static_modifiers.txt (Static modifiers#Curia controller).
- ↑ From /Europa Universalis IV/common/defines.lua: MIN_PAPAL_INFLUENCE_TO_PREVENT_EXCOMMUNICATION = 50, -- Papal influence that prevents excommunication
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 See in /Europa Universalis IV/common/defines.lua
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 See in /Europa Universalis IV/common/static_modifiers/00_static_modifiers.txt.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 See in /Europa Universalis IV/common/triggered_modifiers/00_triggered_modifiers.txt.