Back in January 2022, the Vatican turned into an unlikely meme factory. Picture this: Pope Francis, seated in his white chair, watching a troupe of Italian circus performers. Everything looks like a regular Wednesday general audience—until the opening notes of Megalovania start blasting through the hall. That’s right, Sans’ boss theme from Undertale became the grand finale of a juggling act right in front of the Pontiff. Even four years later in 2026, the internet still can’t keep a straight face about it.

Every Wednesday, the Pope holds a general audience where he greets pilgrims, offers blessings, and now and then, invites performers to spice things up. On January 5, 2022, the Rony Roller Circus pulled out all the stops—and boy, did they deliver. The troupe had already done a few routines, and the Pope’s face was already screaming, “I’ve seen enough.” But then came the pièce de résistance: while a handful of jugglers kept clinking their clubs, Megalovania filled the room. The rest of the circus members just stood awkwardly on the sidelines, like they had drawn the short straw. It’s the kind of moment you’d scrap from a script for being too on the nose.

The whole shebang is peak “can’t make this up.” The jugglers with flaming clubs got so close to the Pope that the lone Swiss Guard on stage probably rethought every life choice. Earlier, two clowns lifelessly fumbled through instruments, and the Pope looked as if he was mentally drafting his resignation. Honestly, it was less “circus artistry” and more “a fever dream sponsored by Toby Fox.” And we’re all here for it.

But here’s the kicker—this wasn’t Pope Francis’s first rodeo with Undertale. Back in 2016, YouTuber MatPat attended a Vatican summit on the internet and decided the perfect gift for the Holy Father was a Steam code for Undertale. Did His Holiness ever boot it up? Almost certainly not. In his address, he famously encouraged young people to “create a more just world” instead of “retreating into video games and computer screens.” So either he’s terrible at dodging bullet hell, or he never even made it past the Ruins. No judgment, Your Holiness.

Rony Roller Circus has performed at the Vatican multiple times, including for Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and for Francis in 2017. The Vatican’s circus tradition isn’t new—in 2020, the Aqua Circus even roped the Pope into a juggling act, and that one actually had some pizzazz. But the Megalovania moment hits different. It’s like someone sneaked a meme into the holiest gig on Earth and got away with it.

By 2026, the clip still resurfaces every time the Undertale fandom needs a good laugh. Fans joke that Sans’ judgment hallway moved to Saint Peter’s Square. The fusion of indie gaming culture and a centuries-old institution is the kind of collision we didn’t know we needed. It’s also a hilarious reminder that you can be the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics and still end up side-eyeing a clown with a flaming pin.

The Pope, ever the diplomat, thanked the Rony Roller Circus after the show, saying beauty “puts us in touch with the Lord.” He might have been searching for the divine in that performance, but the rest of us were just cackling at the thought of a skeleton dunking on a pontiff.

So next time someone tells you video game music isn’t high art, remember: it’s literally been performed for the Pope. Now, if only someone could get him to try the True Pacifist route.