Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State, is a landlocked independent country, city-state, microstate, and enclave within Rome, Italy. It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and it is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains the city state's temporal power and governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. With an area of 49 hectares and as of 2023 a population of about 764, it is the smallest state in the world both by area and population. As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Pope who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various origins. After the Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) the popes have mainly resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere. The Vatican is also a metonym for the Holy See.
The flag of Vatican City was adopted in 1929. 1929 is the year Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy, creating a new independent state governed by the Holy See. The flag of Vatican City is modeled on the 1808 yellow-and-white flag of the earlier Papal States, to which a papal tiara and the crossed keys of Saint Peter were added.
L'Osservatore Romano is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not an official publication, a role reserved for the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, which acts as a government gazette. The views expressed in the Osservatore are those of individual authors unless they appear under the specific titles "Nostre Informazioni" or "Santa Sede".
Saint Peter's Square is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave in Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Both the square and the basilica are named after Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus whom Catholics consider to be the first Pope.
Patrick Coveney was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1966 to 2009. He became an archbishop in 1985 and fulfilled several assignments as Apostolic Nuncio, including stints in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, New Zealand, and Greece.
Borgo is the 14th rione of Rome, Italy. It is identified by the initials R. XIV and is included within Municipio I.
Acta Apostolicae Sedis, often cited as AAS, is the official gazette of the Holy See, appearing about twelve times a year. It was established by Pope Pius X on 29 September 1908 with the decree Promulgandi Pontificias Constitutiones, and publication began in January 1909. It contains all the principal decrees, encyclical letters, decisions of Roman congregations, and notices of ecclesiastical appointments. The laws contained in it are to be considered promulgated when published, and effective three months from date of issue, unless a shorter or longer time is specified in the law.
The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the funds necessary for the Roman Curia to function". It was established by Pope Paul VI on 15 August 1967 and reorganized on 8 July 2014. APSA acts as the treasury and central bank of Vatican City and the Holy See.
The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, formerly named Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. It is distinct from the highest tribunal or court in the Church, which is the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, and does not have law-making authority to the degree the Pope and the Holy See's tribunals do. Its charge is the interpretation of existing canon laws, and it works closely with the Signatura and the other Tribunals and the Pope. Like the Signatura and the other two final appellate Tribunals, the Roman Rota and the Apostolic Penitentiary, it is led by a prefect who is a bishop or archbishop.
The Archdiocese of Foggia-Bovino is a Roman Catholic Metropolitan archdiocese in Apulia, southern Italy, created by promoting the bishopric of Foggia in 1979, and merging with the bishopric of Bovina in 1986, whose name was included in its title.
Gustavo Testa was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who was made a cardinal in 1959. He spent his career in the Roman Curia. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1920 and held several appointments as papal nuncio from 1934 to 1959. He headed the Congregation for the Oriental Churches from 1962 to 1968.
The Italian Catholic Diocese of Massa Carrara-Pontremoli is situated in north-western Tuscany, in the valley of the Frigido River. The city of Massa is on the south side of the river, 5 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city of Carrara is 6 km north of Massa, on the Carrione River. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Pisa.
This is an index of Vatican City–related topics.
Dario Edoardo Viganò is an Italian Catholic priest, writer and university teacher. He was named Director of Vatican Television Center in 2013. He served as the first Prefect of the newly established Secretariat for Communications from 27 June 2015 to 21 March 2018, resigning "a week after his mishandling of a letter from retired Pope Benedict XVI provoked a global outcry".
The Mausoleum of Helena is an ancient building in Rome, Italy, located on the Via Casilina, corresponding to the 3rd mile of the ancient Via Labicana. It was built by the Roman emperor Constantine I between 326 and 330, originally as a tomb for himself, but later assigned to his mother, Helena, who died in 330.
The Church of Saint Anne in the Vatican, known as Sant'Anna de' Palafrenieri, is a Catholic parish church dedicated to Saint Anne in Vatican City. The church is the parish church of the State of Vatican City and is placed under the jurisdiction of the Vicariate of the Vatican City and is located beside the Porta Sant'Anna, an international border crossing between Vatican City State and Italy.
Beniamino Stella is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 2013 to 2021; he has been a cardinal since 2014. He began working in the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1970, was made an archbishop in 1987, and served as a nuncio in several countries between 1987 and 2007. He led the Vatican's training program for its diplomats, the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, from 2007 to 2013.
Justo Mullor García was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and then headed the Vatican's academy for training diplomats.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Yugoslavia was an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Yugoslavia. It was a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador.
San Benedetto fuori Porta San Paolo is a 20th-century parochial church and titular church on the southern edge of Rome, dedicated to Saint Benedict of Nursia.
Original of the Lateran Pacts
Map in the Official Gazette
Map on the Acta Apostolicae Sedis
