On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we look into secrets, daily living, history, and scandal of the Vatican. The Vatican is a truly unique place. It is the last actual monarchy in the world, a country run entirely by one man—the Pope. This city-state is its own government with its own banks, currency, passports, citizens, and laws. Though it exists inside of Rome in the heart of Italy, it is its own country. With under 1000 citizens and smaller than New York’s Central Park, the influence of this area cannot be understated since the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics all turn to this small nation for guidance and spiritual matters.

The Vatican houses something called the Archivum Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum, or, the Secret Archives. Dan Brown’s conspiracy theory novels take a poke at this, but many scholars argue about what is actually in the archives, from proof of extraterrestrials, the biological family-lineage of Jesus Christ, and strange tales about the Knights Templar. It is now open to the public, but we’ll talk about why it is still so hard to get anything useful from it and what we think is actually in the vaults.

However, there are other secrets and mysteries found in the Vatican that are as strange as the Archives. The Pope’s personal protection, The Swiss Guard, is a very strange group of individuals with military training and dedication to the pontiff. They have massive training and modern weapons, yet they are fond of halberds and plate mail! Also, there are tales of murder and mafia that run about in the Vatican, all connected to the banking and businesses that the city-state runs from the heart of Italy. The scandal runs from the mob to the Masons, so it has tinfoil hat written all over it. So, say your prayers, thank the Pope, and give this one a listen!