What if, instead of becoming obsessed with German culture and society, Adolf Hitler stayed in Austria, becoming a devout Catholic and Hapsburg supporter, before fighting for Austria-Hungary in World War One? What if he founded a fascist, Catholic nationalist party there, committed to reclaiming Austria's lost territory, and eventually restoring the Holy Roman Empire in all it's glory?
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could clash a bit with the actual roman empire. I would imagine mussollini would look wearily at Hitler doing a bit of resurgimiento of his own.
Not sure what would be the position of The Church in all that. Assuming a lateran treaty equivalent, the last thing the pope would do is piss off Il Duce. Mind you, in the *absence* of a lateran treaty, this could be a good excuse for hitler to invade, restoring the papal state under a grateful pope (a puppet papacy if you will).