Nearly four decades on, the most famous Catholic in the world, besides the Pope (and maybe the late John F. Kennedy), might still be Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. ("Veronica" is her confirmation name, by the way.) From the moment she debuted in 1983 with her self-titled dance-pop album (accompanied by magnetic, style-setting videos), Madonna — that name alone! — wore her religious upbringing on her sleeve — or around her neck, if we're going to be literal about it. But the pop legend’s relationship with Catholicism — as a central style aesthetic and inspiration, as a symbol of a fraught, traumatic childhood overcome, as an oppressive system to rebel against — has never been straightforward.