Named the ‘Calendario Romano’ – but more commonly referred to as the ‘hot priests’ calendar’ by tourists or, by Italian media, as ‘il calendario preti sexy’ – it was launched in 2003 and has taken on cult status over the years, becoming a must-buy souvenir as well as the subject of widespread online speculation.

Each month of the A4-sized flip calendar features a black and white photo of an unnamed man. Some wear the priest’s collar, others a cappello romano (a type of wide-brimmed hat). Some appear to be taking part in religious parades, while one clutches a book titled ‘Le vie di Roma’; another studiously reads the newspaper.

Tourists are often seen expressing shock or dismay the first time they spot the calendar for sale at kiosks around the city, while others are quick to grab one and hand over their money.

It’s not quite the Italian equivalent of France’s sexy firefighters calendar – the priests remain fully clothed, for one thing, and the portrait shots have the distinct feel of modelling portfolio images.

Curiously, most of the images used seem to remain the same year after year. But this does nothing to dent the calendar’s popularity – particularly, it seems, among American and British visitors to the Eternal City.

Monica, 39, from Connecticut, was disappointed to find the 2024 calendars weren’t yet in stock at the end of December at a kiosk a few streets away from the Vatican Museums.

“I’ll try to buy one online. I was hoping to get a couple to take home as gifts,” she told The Local. “I must be too early because this is the third place I’ve tried.”

She said she had been buying the calendar on her regular trips to Italy for six years (although she “had to ask an Italian friend to mail them over” during the pandemic) and that giving it as a gift has become an annual tradition with her friends.

The fact that the photos are mostly the same every time “is part of the joke,” she said.

Monica is far from the only regular buyer. There are online requests for people to pick up an extra copy of the calendar on their travels – as well as a regular buzz of speculation on forums around whether or not these men are actually priests, where the photos were taken, and what the Catholic Church must think of it all.

The most intense speculation over the years has been about the man in the cover image, who online commenters regularly compare to actor Matt Damon. Italian media outlet Fanpage revealed in an interview in 2022 that he is in fact a flight attendant from Palermo who says he is not, and never has been, a priest, and that the photo was snapped in his native Sicily.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported in 2007 that one of the ‘hot priests’ was actually a Spanish real estate agent.

The Venice-based photographer behind the hit calendar, Piero Pazzi, however told The Local in 2013 that the men were all genuine priests, usually snapped in Rome during Holy Week. 

“I meet most of them on the streets in Rome and ask to take their photos,” he said, adding that he also travels to Seville to capture clergymen during the Spanish city’s Holy Week procession.

The calendar’s purpose was informational, he stressed.

“Yes, the men are good-looking, but it is just a product, a way for people to be better informed about the Vatican.”

The final pages of the calendar feature details about the history of the Catholic Church, including the names of past pontiffs, the opening hours of museums, and other “things that tourists in Rome, especially foreigners, do not have much knowledge about”.

Despite this, the calendar is not officially affiliated with the Catholic Church, and the Vatican confirmed around ten years ago that it was “the initiative of a private individual”.

Profits from the calendar’s sales go to a charity called Snap, which supports people abused by religious and institutional authorities, according to the text on the calendar itself.

The calendar’s popularity only appears to be growing, with Italian media reporting a surge in sales in 2022 and a string of international news reports featuring the calendar in 2023, its 20th year of publication.

Some loyal customers however think it may be time to update the photos: one British buyer told online news outlet Il Sussidario: “I definitely recognise Father June, and Father October has always been there, with his characteristic hat. Father August looks new. 

“My advice to the calendar producers is to mix things up a bit. There are sexy priests everywhere!”