Outline of Vatican City
Vatican City – an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state, being the sovereign territory of the Holy See and ruled by the Bishop of Rome—the Pope, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The territory of this landlocked sovereign city-state consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately , and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.Geography of Vatican CityVatican City is an enclave in an urban area, and lacks the geographic features common to (much larger) countries:Demographics of Vatican City
Cardinal Vicar
In 1929, with the establishment of Vatican City, Pope Pius XII removed Vatican City State from the authority of the Cardinal Vicar. Pope John XXIII established that the offices of the vicarate would be located at the Lateran Palace. Pope John Paul II reorganized the vicarate with the Apostolic constitution "Ecclesia in Urbe", to bring the structure of the vicarate more in line with the 1983 Code of Canon Law.