You are probably aware that a new pope was elected at the Vatican this Thursday, May 8, 2025. Even before his election, all eyes were on the conclave, the assembly bringing together cardinals to elect the new pontiff. To illustrate this historic event, a Spanish television channel did not hesitate to use images from the video game Dark Souls 3.
The unusual link between Dark Souls 3 and the Pope
On April 21, Pope Francis passed away at the Vatican. From then on, the cardinals of the Catholic Church gathered in conclave in the Sistine Chapel to elect the new pope. Since the conclave, as its name suggests, takes place behind closed doors, it is impossible to film inside to see what is happening, television networks are trying to find ways to illustrate the discussions taking place in the holy place.
Some media outlets use computer-generated images to integrate the journalist inside the Sistine Chapel to explain the course of a conclave. But on the Spanish channel Cuatro, the editorial team decided to please video game fans by integrating images from the game Dark Souls 3 into a report.
Indeed, in the report in question, we can discover a sequence from the famous FromSoftWare game which takes place in a Gothic church with the main character played by the player wearing Archdeacon armor that looks very much like a bishop's clothes. The latter faces the boss Pontiff Sulyvahn in a fight where fire spells are cast.
It didn't take long for fans of the game to recognize Dark Souls 3. The channel explains in voiceover:
If we had to imagine a conclave with a video game aesthetic, it could be this battle for the throne of Saint-Pierre.
A Spanish news broadcast showing DS3 Pontiff footage when talking about the new Pope candidates LMAO \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d
byu/DoomGuy_20 infromsoftware
A nod to pop culture appreciated by fans
For many internet users this homage to the game Dark Souls 3 was a nod to pop culture for the least unexpectedbut particularly appreciated and commented on.
The Cuatro channel then continued, not without humor, on the formation of a football team in clip art style representing the cardinals who had a chance of becoming pope with the journalist evoking a Papal Fantasy Football. In short, we know how to laugh on Spanish television.
This is not the only time that pop culture has interfered in Vatican news. Homelander from the series The Boys on Prime Video gave us a hilarious poster for the occasion.
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