--- title: "EU5 1.4 Río Salado: Character Cardinals, Two-Phase Crusades and Religious Orders" description: "Tinto Talks #125 details the Catholic overhaul in EU5 1.4: character cardinals, two-phase Crusades and Jihads, Religious Zeal and religious orders." url: https://after-strategy.com/en/eu5-rio-salado-cardinals-crusades-holy-wars-1-4-2026/ lang: en published: 2026-09-26 updated: 2026-10-26 author: "Simon Dougnac" author_url: https://after-strategy.com/en/auteur/simon/ game: "Europa Universalis 5" game_url: https://after-strategy.com/en/jeux/europa-universalis-5/ categories: [grand-strategy] tags: [europa-universalis-5, eu5, paradox, patch-1-4, rio-salado, cardinals, crusades, catholicism, tinto-talks] translations: fr: https://after-strategy.com/fr/eu5-rio-salado-cardinaux-croisades-tinto-talks-125-2026/ es: https://after-strategy.com/es/eu5-rio-salado-cardinales-cruzadas-guerras-santas-2026/ publisher: "After Strategy" --- # EU5 1.4 Río Salado: Character Cardinals, Two-Phase Crusades and Religious Orders > Tinto Talks #125 details the Catholic overhaul in EU5 1.4: character cardinals, two-phase Crusades and Jihads, Religious Zeal and religious orders. On Wednesday, September 23, Tinto Talks #125 gave a face to EU5's Church. In 1.4 Río Salado, Catholicism becomes less a menu and more a set of people: named cardinals, holy wars with a war chest and a leader, and religious orders settled in your provinces. > **Update, October 26, 2026:** the 1.4 open beta has been available since October 1, and the update launches on October 28. It arrives with the Across the Pillars Chronicle Pack, which adds the Iberian military orders mentioned below. ## Cardinals Become Characters The main change fits in one sentence: cardinals are now characters. Paradox Tinto replaces the Cardinal Seat building, which the team was never sold on. The cardinal keeps a seat in a specific location, and the College of Cardinals appears on the Catholic Church map. The example shown is Gil Álvarez de Albornoz, a historical Castilian who led the reconquest of the Papal States in the 1350s. In the base game, cardinals use regular ecclesiastical models; the dedicated 3D model arrives with Across the Pillars. The Papal Curia is now composed of these cardinals. A bull is proposed by a Catholic country, as before. But only the countries that control a cardinal in the Curia vote, which limits the number of voters. Diplomacy then kicks in. Two actions let you ask a country to support or reject a bull. In Paradox's example they target France, which controls the most cardinals at the start of the game. The Dei Gratia Rex bull passes there. ![Europa Universalis 5 map with European nations and their borders](https://after-strategy.com/images/articles/eu5-rio-salado-cardinaux-croisades-tinto-talks-125-2026/screenshot-1.webp) ### A Cardinal in Your Cabinet Cardinals also serve internal management. A cardinal whose seat lies in one of your locations can become a general or a cabinet member. He can even hold the regency for a minor if he sits in the cabinet when it begins. Promoting him to Head of the Cabinet takes enough Political Influence. A new religious action, Appoint Dynasty Cardinal, turns a member of the ruling family into one. The two existing actions, request and remove a seat, stay in place. For Paradox, a ruler's son becoming a cardinal opens new dynastic options. ## Crusades and Jihads: Two Phases and a Leader The rework hits both holy wars at once, because they mirror each other. A Crusade is called by a Curia vote, which needs a majority of cardinals. A Jihad is called by a religious action. A Crusade has two leaders: a Spiritual Leader, always the Papacy, and a Temporal Leader, the founding realm. A Jihad has only one. A country that joins with a higher Great Power score, or contributes more, can take over leadership. Each holy war runs in two phases. Preparation gathers members, gold and zeal. Religious Zeal runs from 0 to 100 and only wanes in war. It grants bonuses to damage against heathen troops, war exhaustion tolerance and peace offer acceptance. At 100% preparation, a war is declared against the objective and 20% of the contribution is split among the members. Paradox shows a Castilian Crusade against Morocco, answered by a Tunisian Jihad. ![Europa Universalis 5 diplomacy interface with active alliances and treaties](https://after-strategy.com/images/articles/eu5-rio-salado-cardinaux-croisades-tinto-talks-125-2026/screenshot-2.webp) ### Actions and Rewards Actions fall into three lists: 4 shared, 6 specific to the Crusade (including Preach the Crusade, Grant Indulgence and Levy the Saladin Tithe) and 7 specific to the Jihad (including Issue a Fatwa and Levy the War Zakat). Actions reserved for Iberian and Maghrebi countries are left for another Tinto Talks. On top come 35 events, a Crusade Privileges bull and a desertion mechanic. Winning pays more than before. Both wars open with Conquest casus belli, which makes land grabs easier. The war chest is distributed by contribution. The winner receives 10 prestige, 10 religious influence, an opinion modifier toward the other members and a Victor modifier for 10 years. Deserters are punished harder. ## Religious Orders: Five Orders Spread Across Countries Religious orders are new in 1.4. They span several realms at once, with holdings spread over abbeys, priories and hospices. Five generic orders arrive: Benedictines and Cistercians for the monastic type, Dominicans, Franciscans and Augustinians for the mendicant type. A third type, Iberian military, is announced for later. Each order follows one of 10 callings, such as Preachers, Almoners or Confessors for the mendicants, and Contemplatives, Scholars or Cultivators for the monastics. Its strength depends on its global zeal and its standing in your country. Three generic actions use religious influence: grant a holding, expel it, change the order's calling. Each holding produces a character usable in the cabinet, which raises the order's standing in your country. Orders also push toward certain societal values, and the clergy can press you for land through a parliament agenda. More than 20 events accompany the system. The effects differ clearly: Dominicans convert, Franciscans foster peasant growth and disease resistance, Cistercians raise food production. For players who prefer internal development to Curia plotting and Crusading, it is a new use for religious influence. ![Europa Universalis 5 campaign map with provinces and borders](https://after-strategy.com/images/articles/eu5-rio-salado-cardinaux-croisades-tinto-talks-125-2026/screenshot-3.webp) ## What to Watch in the Beta The 1.4 open beta starts on October 1, according to Paradox. The Grand Voyage Roadmap, published the day before the Tinto Talks, confirms that Christianity will be a major focus of 1.5, with the Western Schism, the Reformation, the Council of Trent and the War of Religions. What matters for players: a Curia limited to countries that hold a cardinal makes the race for seats strategic, but it may also leave small countries by the roadside. In practice, watch how fast Religious Zeal builds during preparation, and whether each order's actions carry enough weight to rival a Crusade. ## Going Further - [Río Salado: Catholicism and Crusades confirmed for the fall](https://after-strategy.com/en/eu5-14-rio-salado-catholicism-crusades-across-the-pillars-2026/) - [Political Influence and Decisions in 1.4](https://after-strategy.com/en/eu5-patch-1-4-political-influence-decisions-open-beta-2026/) - [The Europa Universalis 5 game hub](https://after-strategy.com/en/jeux/europa-universalis-5/) ## Sources - - - Source : [EU5 1.4 Río Salado: Character Cardinals, Two-Phase Crusades and Religious Orders](https://after-strategy.com/en/eu5-rio-salado-cardinals-crusades-holy-wars-1-4-2026/) — After Strategy