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Description
First space piece of 2017!

This world is named Galileo and is an independent planet-state located within the territory of the United Earth Federation. It is the current seat of the Papacy which relocated here after an earthquake leveled the Vatican and devastated the city of Rome in 3505. The Church named the planet, which had been donated to them in 3488, after Galileo "to honor a man unjustly persecuted for attempting to share with Christendom the unending majesty and awesome depth of God's creation." The permanent population of the planet is only around 625,000 people, all of whom live in the city of Saint Peter, though the population has historically fluctuated between that and tens of millions as the Church regularly allows refugees of all faiths and species to reside on the planet until they are either relocated to more permanent settlements elsewhere in the galaxy or can return to their homes. There are also several million pilgrims and tourists at any given time, and several smaller cities and towns have developed that have no permanent population and serve only to house and provide for these visitors. The 521st Pope, Mary VII, currently resides in the New Apostolic Palace within the city of Saint Peter, where she rules over the planet as sovereign and the Holy See as Pontiff. The exact number of Catholics in the known galaxy is currently unknown but is estimated to be at least ten billion entities with 97% of them being human. At present there has never been a non-human Pope, but given that of the 780 cardinals in the College of Cardinals 18 are non-humans and non-humans have had the right to be ordained as priests for over 150 years the idea that in the future a non-human may be elected Pope is not out of the question.

Description
First space piece of 2017!

This world is named Galileo and is an independent planet-state located within the territory of the United Earth Federation. It is the current seat of the Papacy which relocated here after an earthquake leveled the Vatican and devastated the city of Rome in 3505. The Church named the planet, which had been donated to them in 3488, after Galileo "to honor a man unjustly persecuted for attempting to share with Christendom the unending majesty and awesome depth of God's creation." The permanent population of the planet is only around 625,000 people, all of whom live in the city of Saint Peter, though the population has historically fluctuated between that and tens of millions as the Church regularly allows refugees of all faiths and species to reside on the planet until they are either relocated to more permanent settlements elsewhere in the galaxy or can return to their homes. There are also several million pilgrims and tourists at any given time, and several smaller cities and towns have developed that have no permanent population and serve only to house and provide for these visitors. The 521st Pope, Mary VII, currently resides in the New Apostolic Palace within the city of Saint Peter, where she rules over the planet as sovereign and the Holy See as Pontiff. The exact number of Catholics in the known galaxy is currently unknown but is estimated to be at least ten billion entities with 97% of them being human. At present there has never been a non-human Pope, but given that of the 780 cardinals in the College of Cardinals 18 are non-humans and non-humans have had the right to be ordained as priests for over 150 years the idea that in the future a non-human may be elected Pope is not out of the question.