CarnalNation

Looking for a holiday gift for that lapsed Catholic in your life? If that controversial Spanish calendar featuring transgender Virgins and lots of condoms is a bit too secular, then the 2010 Calendario Romano may be just the thing to get him or her back in church on Sunday mornings—or at least the confessional. Italian photographer Piero Pazzi has put together twelve months of holy hotness in the form of smoldering black-and-white photographs of hunky Roman priests. In Rome, this annual tradition, which seeks to raise awareness for the Vatican and the Catholic Church, has become known as "The Vatican Beefcake Calendar." While there are no official ties between Pazzi's work and the Holy See, Vatican officials seem to have turned a blind eye (at least publicly) to these strapping young men in long black robes.

In an interview with entertainment magazine Variety, Pazzi explains why he chooses such beautiful specimens from the priesthood: "I pick them young to signal that their calling is still very much alive." Indeed, his latest calendar may succeed in converting the unfaithful. Pazzi says he receives a fair number of orders for the calendar, which is available for only 10 euros (U.S. $15), from female ministers from Scandinavian countries. We're pretty sure that the calendar will also appeal to others who appreciate beautiful men—like the gays. Fall on your knees...

The calendar has been such a success that the tony publisher Rizzoli has bought the exclusive rights for an American edition. In the meantime, Pazzi conducts casting sessions as he travels around the world. Aside from the age requirement, he also requires that his models should be "unmarried." Huh?

Oh yeah, and there's also a Facebook page dedicated to these pretty priests, which states that the 2010 edition is already sold out. Guess you'll just have to attend mass until the second coming... I mean, printing.