Aurora:Pope John Paul III
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Pope John Paul III, previously PerseusV, is the current leader of the Holy Catholic Church. He is the first pope to be a member of the Dominican Order and first pope to not have played on Terra Nova.
Perseus was ordained as a priest in August of 2023 in Rome, Papal States. He remained in Italy for his episcopacy, where he served as Bishop of Sicily and later as an titular archbishop in Rome as the Prefecture of the Papal Household. He was created a cardinal on May 16th, 2023, by Pope Clement XV. During his time as cardinal, he served as the Cardinal Secretary of State and oversaw the governance of the Papal States. He was the project manager for the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica on Terra Aurora.
Following the historic resignation of Pope Pius XIII on September 24th, 2024, a papal conclave elected Perseus to be his successor on the 5th of October. His election came after the longest conclave in the history of the Church on EarthMC, taking two separate rounds of voting over the course of a week. He startchose the name John Paul as his papal name in honor of Pope Saint John Paul II.
Pope John Paul III is widely recognized for his pastoral excellence, his impassioned speeches, and his ability to connect deeply with the faithful. Before his ascension to the papacy, he built a reputation as an advocate for community engagement, organizing numerous events that brought together Christians of all walks of life such as the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor in May of 2024. A strong proponent of Christian unity, Pope John Paul III has consistently emphasized the importance of bridging divides within the Christian community, making it a central pillar of his young papacy. He views every initiative through the lens of advancing the Church's mission, urging his prelates to set aside all personal differences and tensions for the sake of spreading the truth of God's love to all. Whether through local gatherings in Rome, Church-wide celebrations, or administrative efforts, his leadership has so far been marked by a genuine desire to serve, inspire, and unite the people of God.
Election
Perseus was elected pope on October 5th, 2024, after eleven days of sede vacante and two days of voting. This was the longest period of sede vacante in the history of the Holy Catholic Church and the first time where the scrutiny of the conclave had failed to reach the necessary votes to elect a new pope. The number of ballots cast by the cardinals has not been made public, but it believed to be well over twenty.
The initial indecision of the College of Cardinals was a cause for concern, with speculation spreading about potential disunity during the week leading up to the second round of voting. However, all doubts dissipated whenever Cardinal Perseus, now Pope John Paul III, stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica and delivered his first papal address to the faithful awaiting in St. Peter's Square. John Paul made his first appearance wearing the white papal cassock accompanied by a red velvet mozzetta.
During his speech, John Paul preached the importance of continued Christian unity, denouncing recent divisions and encouraging his fellow faithful members to embrace their roles as missionaries.
Urbi et Orbi Address
The following is a transcript of Pope John Paul's Urbi et Orbi address delivered on October 5th, 2024, at 3:15 PM in Rome.
"After what everyone could tell was a lengthy and intense deliberation process, it seems my brothers, the cardinals, have decided and elected a bishop of Rome. Today, I would like to address you for the first time as someone who is here not to pretend, but to take your hand and together walk the path of our mission as online evangelizers and pastors. First, I would like to thank you all for being here, for your faith, and for your patience in my brother cardinals and me to make a decision. But before anything else, I would like to take a moment to thank our previous pope, our former pope, our pastor and evangelical champion, our theological expert, Pope Pius XIII. With this being said, I believe that we now face, as a community and as a Church, one single purpose, one challenge that we must overcome if we are to continue moving forward on our mission to evangelize EarthMC—and that is unity, Christian unity. It is through the unity of our Church that, together, we can realize that we must return to our pastoral mission—not as mere replicators of the real Church, but as online evangelizers. We must realize that our efforts in EarthMC are not in vain, that they are not simply acting. It’s a real challenge. It’s a real calling that we, as Christians, have to bring the Gospels to everyone. What better environment to educate than through this game and the opportunity that has been given to us? We must return to our mission as evangelizers. To do this, we must act as living examples—living examples of Christ. My fellow brothers, what we do is being seen by other players who might not be accustomed to the faith, who might not be Christian. It is our responsibility and duty to act morally right, to act in accordance with the values of the Church, to act as the Church preaches in real life. Only then will the server look at us—and they are already looking at us—and truly realize that the only way to the truth and to the light is through Him, through Our Lord. With this being said, going back to the notion that we are not here to replicate, I invite you to realize that our mission is real, our mission has purpose and meaning. What we do, people can see and tell. In that sense, I therefore ask for your real prayers, just as you have my own. I deeply thank you for being here today, for your support, for your love. I invite you today to walk with me together to get the Church back to its pastoral roots. I ask that you pray for me, for the real Church, and for our little community, so that we may touch the hearts of every player on the server, every leader and every player who needs to know that God loves him. I ask for your prayers. Once again, thank you for your time, for your effort, and for everything you have done for the Church. God bless you. We will be meeting each other soon."
- Pope John Paul III
5 Oct. 2024