When was the Vatican established?
Vatican City
The name was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, which established the modern city-state. The name is taken from Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state. "Vatican" is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, "Vatica" or "Vaticum" meaning garden, located in the general area the Romans called "vaticanus ager", "Vatican territory".
Vatican City national football team
In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II established a Vatican sports department with the aim of "reinvigorating the tradition (of sport) within the Christian community". In 2006, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone suggested that the Vatican could field a team of men from Catholic seminaries. About the prospect, the cardinal stated, "If we just take the Brazilian students from our Pontifical universities we could have a magnificent squad." The cardinal also noted that in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, there were 42 players in the final round who attended Salesian training centres worldwide. For example, Marcelino, Spanish hero of the 1964 European Nations' Cup was a former seminarian. It was Bertone's proposal that the Vatican's players, even if accepted by UEFA, would be drawn from the population within the Catholic Church worldwide, not just citizens of Vatican City. He was unclear at the time whether the Vatican would grant these players Vatican citizenship to make this possible.
Catholic Church and ecumenism
The Catholic Church recognizes 21 Ecumenical or General Councils: Nicaea I (325), Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451), Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680–681), Nicaea II (787), Constantinople IV (869–870), Lateran I (1123), Lateran II (1139), Lateran III (1179), Lateran IV (1215), Lyons I (1245), Lyons II (1274), Vienne (1311–1312), Constance (1414–1418), Florence (1438–1445), Lateran V (1512–1517), Trent (1545–1563), Vatican I (1869–1870), Vatican II (1962–1965).
Vatican Pharmacy
The pharmacy remained only a storeroom until 1892, when a permanent office was established to offer health care services to the pope, cardinals, and bishops of the Vatican. In 1917, the pharmacy was moved to St. Anne's Gate, closer to the main entrance of the Vatican. At the time, the Vatican pharmacy was immensely popular for offering medicines which were otherwise unobtainable within Rome. Even today, due to the complicated bureaucratic drug approval process of the Italian government, the pharmacy often has medicines months to years before Italian pharmacies.
Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State
The Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State () is the fire brigade of the Vatican City State. It was founded in its present form by Pope Pius XII in 1941, although its origins are much older.
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , addressed relations between the Catholic Church and the modern world. The council, through the Holy See, was formally opened under the pontificate of Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and was closed under Pope Paul VI on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1965.
Military in Vatican City
The Noble Guard () was formed in 1801 by Pope Pius VII. The regiment was formed as a heavy cavalry unit. It was part of the Pope's personal guard, providing a mounted escort for the Pope when he travelled in his carriage; it saw no active military engagements. The Guard performed special missions within the Papal States until their abolition, and then continued to function at the Vatican with a limited mounted escort role. It survived (no longer with horses) into the period of the Vatican City State, as a "de facto" Vatican military unit from 1929 to 1970.
Military in Vatican City
The Papal Gendarmerie Corps () was formed in 1816 by Pope Pius VII, originally under the name of Papal Carabinieri Corps. The unit was formed as a military police unit. In 1849 Pope Pius IX renamed it as the Papal Velites Regiment, and subsequently as the Papal Gendarmerie Corps. It saw active military engagements in the battles which culminated in the abolition of the Papal States. It survived (greatly reduced in size) into the period of the Vatican City State, as a "de facto" Vatican military unit from 1929 to 1970, providing internal security.
Vatican Historical Museum
The Vatican Historical Museum () is one of the sections of the Vatican Museums. It was founded in 1973 at the behest of Pope Paul VI, and was initially hosted in environments under the Square Garden. In 1987 it was moved to the main floor of the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran and opened in March 1991.
Vatican City
Vatican City issues its own coins and stamps. It has used the euro as its currency since 1 January 1999, owing to a special agreement with the European Union (council decision 1999/98). Euro coins and notes were introduced on 1 January 2002—the Vatican does not issue euro banknotes. Issuance of euro-denominated coins is strictly limited by treaty, though somewhat more than usual is allowed in a year in which there is a change in the papacy. Because of their rarity, Vatican euro coins are highly sought by collectors. Until the adoption of the Euro, Vatican coinage and stamps were denominated in their own Vatican lira currency, which was on par with the Italian lira.
Catholic Church in the 20th century
At the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) the debate on papal primacy and authority re-emerged, and in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen gentium", the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on the authority of the Pope, bishops and councils was further elaborated. Vatican II sought to correct the unbalanced ecclesiology left behind by Vatican I. The result is the body of teaching about the papacy and episcopacy contained in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "Lumen gentium".
Foreign relations of the Holy See
The Holy See, as a non-state sovereign entity and full subject of international law, started establishing diplomatic relations with sovereign states in the 15th century. It had the territory of the States of the Church under its direct sovereign rule since centuries before that time. Currently it has the territory of the State of the Vatican City under its direct sovereign rule. In the period of 1870-1929 between the annexation of Rome by the Kingdom of Italy and the ratification of the Lateran Treaty establishing the current Vatican City State, the Holy See was devoid of territory. In this period some states suspended their diplomatic relations, but others retained them (or established such relations for the first time or reestablished them after a break), so that the number of states that did have diplomatic relations with the Holy See almost doubled (from 16 to 27) in the period between 1871 and 1929.
Holy See
Notwithstanding, the Holy See was represented in and identified as a "permanent subject of general customary international law vis-à-vis all states" in the Congress of Vienna of 1814 to 1815. The Papal States were recognised under the rule of the Papacy and largely restored to their former extent. Despite the Capture of Rome in 1870 by the Kingdom of Italy and the Roman Question during the Savoyard era (which made the Pope a "prisoner in the Vatican" from 1870 to 1929), its international legal subject was "constituted by the ongoing reciprocity of diplomatic relationships" that not only were maintained but multiplied.
List of religious sites
Rome is the place from which Catholics believe the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church were formally founded and begun by St. Peter (whom they consider to be the "Prince of the Apostles") as the appointed successor and first vicar of Christ. Thus while the Holy Sepulchre is still the most sanctified of places for Catholics, the Vatican is an extremely sacred place to the faithful (those of the Latin Church, as well as the Churches "sui iuris") as the seat of their supreme authority on Earth. Important papal territories include the four major basilicas (L.: "Basilica maior", pl. "-es"; excluding St. Peter's) – namely the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (the ecumenical Catholic mother church), St. Peter's Basilica, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls (containing the tomb of Paul the Apostle), and the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
Fundamental Law of Vatican City State
The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 26 November 2000, is the main governing document of the Vatican's civil entities. It obtained the force of law of 22 February 2001, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle, and replaced in its entirety law N. I (the Fundamental Law of Vatican City of 7 June 1929). All the norms in force in Vatican City State which were not in agreement with the new Law were abrogated and the original of the Fundamental Law, bearing the Seal of Vatican City State, was deposited in the Archive of the Laws of Vatican City State and the corresponding text was published in the Supplement to the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. The law consists of 20 Articles.
History of the papacy
When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, the Vatican declared neutrality to avoid being drawn into the conflict and also to avoid occupation by the Italian military. In 1944, the German Army occupied Rome. Adolf Hitler proclaimed that he would respect Vatican neutrality. However, several incidents, such as giving aid to downed Allied airmen, nearly caused Nazi Germany to invade the Vatican. Rome was liberated by the Allies after several months of occupation.
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Historical Museum () was founded in 1973 at the behest of Pope Paul VI, and was initially hosted in environments under the Square Garden. In 1987, it moved to the main floor of the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran where it opened in March 1991.
Second Vatican Council
Pope Paul VI opened the last period of the Council on 14 September 1965 with the establishment of the Synod of Bishops. This more permanent structure was intended to preserve close cooperation of the bishops with the Pope after the council.
Vates
In pagan Rome the vates resided on the Vatican Hill, the Hill of the Vates. The Vatican Hill takes its name from the Latin word Vaticanus, a vaticiniis ferendis, in allusion to the oracles, or Vaticinia, which were anciently delivered on the Vatican Hill. (When the papacy was returned to Rome from Avignon (France) in the 14th Century, the Vatican became the residence of the Pope, and the word Vatican came to refer to the enclave in the middle of Rome that had become the seat of the Roman Catholic Church.)
Theocracy
Following the Capture of Rome on 20 September 1870, the Papal States including Rome with the Vatican were annexed by the Kingdom of Italy. In 1929, with the Lateran Treaty signed with the Italian Government, the new state of Vatican City (population 842) – with no connection with the former Papal States – was formally created and recognized as an independent state. The head of state of the Vatican is the pope, elected by the College of Cardinals, an assembly of Senatorial-princes of the Church. They are usually clerics, appointed as Ordinaries, but in the past have also included men who were not bishops nor clerics. A pope is elected for life, and either dies or may resign. The cardinals are appointed by the popes, who therefore choose the electors of their successors.
Pallottines
Saint Vincent Pallotti was born in Rome in 1795. Together with a group of associates and collaborators, he developed in the city of Rome a large structure of apostolic activity, while striving to unite and co-ordinate such activity. From this effort arose the idea of founding a new institution, that is, “the Union of Catholic Apostolate”, to unite all of his apostolic initiatives. Vincent Pallotti died on January 22, 1850, without having seen the full development of his work. His closest collaborators continued his mission, ensuring further development of the Society. Vincent Pallotti was beatified in 1950 and canonized in 1963 during the Second Vatican Council.
Vatican City
The name "Vatican" was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome. Under the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there, after Agrippina the Elder (14 BC – 18 October AD 33) drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early 1st century AD. In AD 40, her son, Emperor Caligula (31 August AD 12–24 January AD 41; r. 37–41) built in her gardens a circus for charioteers (AD 40) that was later completed by Nero, the "Circus Gaii et Neronis", usually called, simply, the Circus of Nero.
First Vatican Council
Consequently, on 20 September 1870, one month after the Kingdom of Italy had occupied Rome, Pope Pius IX, who then considered himself a prisoner in the Vatican, issued the bull "Postquam Dei munere", adjourning the council indefinitely. While some proposed to continue the council in the Belgian city of Mechlin, it was never reconvened.
Governor of Vatican City
The post of Governor of Vatican City (Governatore dello Stato della Città del Vaticano in Italian) was held by Marchese Camillo Serafini from the foundation of the state in 1929 until his death in 1952. No successor was appointed, and the post itself was not mentioned in the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State issued by Pope John Paul II on 26 November 2000, which entered into force on 22 February 2001.
Politics of Vatican City
The pope delegates legislative authority for the state to the unicameral Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. This commission was established in 1939 by Pope Pius XII. It consists of seven Cardinals appointed by the pope for five-year terms. Laws passed by the Commission must be approved by the pope through the Secretariat of State prior to being published and taking effect.
Acta Apostolicae Sedis
Since 1929, "Acta Apostolicae Sedis" carries a supplement in Italian, called "Supplemento per le leggi e disposizioni dello Stato della Città del Vaticano", containing laws and regulations of Vatican City, the city-state founded in that year. In accordance with paragraph 2 of the "Legge sulle fonti del diritto" of 7 June 1929, the laws of the state are promulgated by being included in this supplement.
Council of Trent
More than three hundred years passed until the next ecumenical council, the First Vatican Council, was convened in 1869.
First Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council () was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned on 20 October 1870. Unlike the five earlier general councils held in Rome, which met in the Lateran Basilica and are known as Lateran councils, it met in the Vatican Basilica, hence its name. Its best-known decision is its definition of papal infallibility.
Christianity in the 19th century
The doctrine of papal primacy was further developed in 1870 at the First Vatican Council, which declared that "in the disposition of God the Roman church holds the preeminence of ordinary power over all the other churches". This council also affirmed the dogma of papal infallibility, (declaring that the infallibility of the Christian community extends to the pope himself, when he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church), and of papal supremacy (supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary jurisdiction of the pope).
Vatican Radio
Vatican Radio began broadcasting with the callsign HVJ on two shortwave frequencies using 10 kilowatts (kW) of power on 12 February 1931, with the pontificial message "Omni creaturae" of Pope Pius XI. Also in attendance was Guglielmo Marconi and Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who would become Pope Pius XII Its first director was physicist Giuseppe Gianfranceschi, who was also the president of the Accademia dei Nuovi Lincei.
Vatican City
The Holy See dates back to early Christianity, and is the primate episcopal see of the Catholic Church, with 1.3 billion Catholics around the world distributed in the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. The independent Vatican City-state, on the other hand, came into existence in 11 February 1929 by the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation, not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of central Italy.
Inside the Vatican
"Inside the Vatican" is published ten times a year, having begun its first publication in April 1993. The magazine has an editorial office in Front Royal, VA. It claims a readership of 17,500 and a circulation of 15,000, primarily in the US and Canada.
Vatican Telephone Service
The Vatican Telephone Service was first officially established in 1930. In 2002, it became part of the Governorate's Department of Telecommunication and oversees all telecommunications needs of Vatican City.
Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
The Pontifical Commission was created in 1939 by Pius XII. Laws and regulations proposed by the Commission must be submitted to the pope through the Secretariat of State prior to being made public and taking effect. Laws, regulations, and instructions enacted by the Commission are published in the "Acta Apostolicae Sedis".
Catholic Church and science
Scientific support continues through the present day. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences was founded in 1936 by Pope Pius XI, with the aim of promoting the progress of the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences and the study of related epistemological problems. The academy holds a membership roster of the most respected names in 20th century science, many of them Nobel laureates. Also worth noting is the Vatican Observatory, which is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See.
Papal States
Despite the fact that the traditionally Catholic powers did not come to the pope's aid, the papacy rejected any substantial accommodation with the Italian Kingdom, especially any proposal which required the pope to become an Italian subject. Instead the papacy confined itself (see Prisoner in the Vatican) to the Apostolic Palace and adjacent buildings in the loop of the ancient fortifications known as the Leonine City, on Vatican Hill. From there it maintained a number of features pertaining to sovereignty, such as diplomatic relations, since in canon law these were inherent in the papacy. In the 1920s, the papacy – then under Pius XI—renounced the bulk of the Papal States, and the Lateran Treaty with Italy (then ruled by the National Fascist Party under Benito Mussolini) was signed on February 11, 1929, creating the State of the Vatican City, forming the sovereign territory of the Holy See, which was also indemnified to some degree for loss of territory.
Vatican City
From then on, the area became more populated in connection with activity at the basilica. A palace was constructed nearby as early as the 5th century during the pontificate of Pope Symmachus (reigned 498–514).
Nostra aetate
Nostra aetate () is the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. Passed by a vote of 2,221 to 88 of the assembled bishops, this declaration was promulgated on 28 October 1965 by Pope Paul VI. It is the shortest of the 16 final documents of the Council and "the first in Catholic history to focus on the relationship that Catholics have with Jews." It "reveres the work of God in all the major faith traditions." It begins by stating its purpose of reflecting on what humankind have in common in these times when people are being drawn closer together.
Vatican City
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected on 13 March 2013. His principal subordinate government official for Vatican City as well as the country's head of government is the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, who since 1952 exercises the functions previously belonging to the Governor of Vatican City. Since 2001, the president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State also has the title of president of the Governorate of the State of Vatican City. The current president is Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, who was appointed on 1 October 2011.
Vatican City
The name "Vatican" predates Christianity and comes from the Latin "", meaning Vatican Mount. The territory of Vatican City is part of the "Mons Vaticanus", and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields. It is in this territory that St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and museums were built, along with various other buildings. The area was part of the Roman "rione" of Borgo until 1929. Being separated from the city, on the west bank of the river Tiber, the area was an outcrop of the city that was protected by being included within the walls of Leo IV (847–855), and later expanded by the current fortification walls, built under Paul III (1534–1549), Pius IV (1559–1565) and Urban VIII (1623–1644).
When the Lateran Treaty of 1929 that gave the state its form was being prepared, the boundaries of the proposed territory were influenced by the fact that much of it was all but enclosed by this loop. For some tracts of the frontier, there was no wall, but the line of certain buildings supplied part of the boundary, and for a small part of the frontier a modern wall was constructed.
Ecumenism
The Old Catholic Church split from the Catholic Church in the 1870s because of the promulgation of the dogma of Papal Infallibility as promoted by the First Vatican Council of 1869–1870. The term "Old Catholic" was first used in 1853 to describe the members of the See of Utrecht who were not under Papal authority. The Old Catholic movement grew in America but has not maintained ties with Utrecht, although talks are under way between some independent Old Catholic bishops and Utrecht.
Infallibility of the Church
The doctrine of papal infallibility was formally defined at the First Vatican Council in 1870, although belief in this doctrine long predated this council and was premised on the promises of Jesus to Peter, promises to Peter (Mat 16:16-20; Luke 22:32). The encyclicals of the First Vatican Council, however were rejected by a small minority of bishops who separated themselves from union with the Bishop or Rome to form, or preserve, the Old Catholic Church.
Congregation of the Vatican Press
The Holy Congregation of the Vatican Press was one of the vatican bodies set up by Pope Sixtus V on 22 January 1588 in his papal bull "Immensa Aeterni Dei".
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
The Second Vatican Council had proposed the creation of a body of the universal Church whose role would be "to stimulate the Catholic Community to foster progress in needy regions and social justice on the international scene". It was in reply to this request that Pope Paul VI established the Pontifical Commission "Justitia et Pax" by a Motu Proprio dated 6 January 1967 (Catholicam Christi Ecclesiam).
Two months later, in Populorum Progressio, Paul VI succinctly stated of the new body that "its name, which is also its programme, is Justice and Peace" (No. 5). Gaudium et Spes and this Encyclical, which "in a certain way... applies the teaching of the Council", were the founding texts and points of reference for this new body.
After a ten-year experimental period, Paul VI gave the Commission its definitive status with the Motu Proprio "Iustitiam et Pacem" of 10 December 1976. When the Apostolic Constitution "Pastor Bonus" of 28 June 1988 reorganized the Roman Curia, Pope John Paul II changed its name from Commission to Pontifical Council and reconfirmed the general lines of its work.
Agenzia Fides
Agenzia Fides is the news agency of the Vatican. It is based in the "Palazzo de Propaganda Fide" in Vatican City. It is part of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. It was formed on June 5, 1927, as the first missionary news agency of the Roman Catholic Church and was approved by Pope Pius XI.
Apostolic Palace
Construction of the Papal Palace (also known as the Apostolic Palace or Vatican Palace) at the Vatican in Vatican City, took place mainly between 1471 and 1605. Covering 162,000m squared (1,743,753ft squared), it contains the Papal Apartments, offices of the Roman Catholic Church and Holy See, chapels, Vatican Library, museums and art galleries.
Vatican Pharmacy
The pharmacy was founded in 1874, at the height of the "Roman Question", when Cardinal Secretary of State Giacomo Antonelli asked Eusebio Ludvig Fronmen, a Fatebenefratelli monk, who ran a nearby pharmacy, to take charge of supplying medicines for the pope and cardinals residing in the Vatican. Popes had been confined to the Vatican since an 1870 dispute with the Italian government, when Rome was annexed into the Kingdom of Italy.
Languages of Vatican City
Vatican City is a city state that came into existence in 1929. It is therefore to be clearly distinguished from the Holy See, which already was in existence for many centuries before that date.
InfoVaticana
InfoVaticana is a religious website based in Spain, covering topics about the Catholic Church. Founded in 2013 by Gabriel Ariza and Fernando Beltrán, the website describes itself as trying to "fill a gap in the rigorous analysis of what happens in the Church". Information is published in two languages; the Spanish language and the Italian language. The website takes a Vaticanist approach, discussing current affairs within the Church from an orthodox Catholic point of view. During the reign of Pope Francis, the website has had legal action taken against it by the Vatican City for use of symbols related to the Vatican.
Vatican News App
The Vatican News App is an official mobile application software issued by the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication. Formerly titled The Pope App, the app was launched on January 23, 2013 under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, a now-defunct dicastery that was merged into the Secretariat (now Dicastery) for Communication in March 2016.
Pope Paul VI
After his election as Bishop of Rome, Paul VI first met with the priests in his new diocese. He told them that in Milan he started a dialogue with the modern world and asked them to seek contact with all people from all walks of life. Six days after his election he announced that he would continue Vatican II and convened the opening to take place on 29 September 1963. In a radio address to the world, Paul VI recalled the uniqueness of his predecessors, the strength of Pius XI, the wisdom and intelligence of Pius XII and the love of John XXIII. As "his pontifical goals" he mentioned the continuation and completion of Vatican II, the reform of the Canon Law and improved social peace and justice in the world. The Unity of Christianity would be central to his activities.
Second Vatican Council
At the same time, the world's bishops faced challenges driven by political, social, economic, and technological change. Some of these bishops sought new ways of addressing those challenges. The First Vatican Council had been held nearly a century before but had been cut short in 1870 when the Italian Army entered the city of Rome at the end of Italian unification. As a result, only deliberations on the role of the papacy and the congruent relationship of faith and reason were completed, with examination of pastoral issues concerning the direction of the Church left unaddressed.
World Council of Churches
Pope St. John XXIII took a different stance however, and in 1958 he was elected as the head of the Catholic Church. Ecumenism was a new element of catholic ideology which had been permitted, which was signified to a great extent, when John XXIII met with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher. This was the first meeting between an Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Pope in the Vatican for 600 years. John XXIII later developed the office of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity; which symbolised a dramatic shift in support for the ecumenical movement, from the Catholic Church, led from the Vatican. 1961 saw Catholic members attend the Delhi conference of the WCC, which masked a significant shift in attitude toward the WCC from the Papacy. There was the idea in addition to this, that the Pope invited non-Catholics to attend the Vatican II council. This new approach to inter-denominational relations was marked within the Unitatis Redintegratino.
Vatican during the Savoyard era (1870–1929)
Rome was declared Capital of Italy in March 1861, when the first Italian Parliament met in the kingdom's old capital Turin in Piemonte. However, the Italian Government could not take possession of its capital because Napoleon III kept a French garrison in Rome protecting Pope Pius IX. The opportunity to eliminate the last vestige of the Papal States came when the Franco-Prussian War began in July 1870. Emperor Napoleon III had to recall his garrison from Rome for France's own defence and could no longer protect the pope. Following the collapse of the Second French Empire at the battle of Sedan, widespread public demonstrations demanded that the Italian Government take Rome. King Victor Emmanuel II sent Count Gustavo Ponza di San Martino to Pius IX with a personal letter offering a face-saving proposal that would have allowed the peaceful entry of the Italian Army into Rome, under the guise of offering protection to the pope.
Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology
The Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology () is an official board of the Vatican founded in 1852 by Pope Pius IX for the purpose of promoting and directing excavations in the Catacombs of Rome and on other sites of Christian antiquarian interest, and of safeguarding the objects found during such excavations. In 1925, Pope Pius XI declared that the Commission was Pontifical and its competencies were defined in detail and reaffirmed recently in the conventions between the Holy See and the Italian State.
Vatican and Eastern Europe (1846–1958)
The Vatican and Eastern Europe (1846–1958) describes the relations from the pontificate of Pope Pius IX (1846–1878) through the pontificate of Pope Pius XII (1939–1958). It includes the relations of the Church State (1846–1870) and the Vatican (1870–1958)
with Russia (1846–1918), Lithuania (1922–1958) and Poland (1918–1958).
Vatican Library
The Vatican Secret Archives, located in Vatican City, is the central archive for all of the acts promulgated by the Holy See, as well as the state papers, correspondence, papal account books, and many other documents which the church has accumulated over the centuries. In the 17th century, under the orders of Pope Paul V, the Secret Archives were separated from the Vatican Library, where scholars had some very limited access to them, and remained absolutely closed to outsiders until 1881, when Pope Leo XIII opened them to researchers, more than a thousand of whom now examine its documents each year.
Military in Vatican City
The Palatine Guard () was formed in 1850 by Pope Pius IX, through amalgamation of two older units of the Papal Army. The corps was formed as an infantry unit. It saw active service during the token resistance to the occupation of Rome by Italian government troops in 1870, and it survived into the period of the Vatican City State, as a "de facto" Vatican military unit (including a ceremonial military band) from 1929 to 1970.
Pope
The apostolic see of Rome was founded by Saint Peter and Saint Paul in 1st century, according to Catholic tradition. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history. In ancient times the popes helped spread Christianity, and intervened to find resolutions in various doctrinal disputes. In the Middle Ages, they played a role of secular importance in Western Europe, often acting as arbitrators between Christian monarchs. Currently, in addition to the expansion of the Christian faith and doctrine, the popes are involved in ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, charitable work, and the defense of human rights.
Vatican City Championship
The Vatican City Championship () is the top men's association football league of Vatican City. Founded in 1972 as the Coppa Amicizia, teams are composed of workers representing various state departments. Teams are permitted to field an outside player from Italian amateur teams to play as goalkeeper. The league's best players are combined to form the Vatican City national team for rare friendly matches. The Vatican football association, Federazione Vaticanese Giuoco Calcio, is not a member of FIFA and is overseen by its president Domenico Ruggerio as of May 2014. All matches are played at the Associazione Sportivo La Salle complex in Western Rome, although the larger Campo Cardinale Francis Joseph Spellman served as home until recently. The league has amateur status with matches and training taking place outside of work hours. Matches take place on Mondays and Tuesdays. Equipment and uniforms are occasionally donated by organizations and benefactors with deficits being covered by the Vatican government. The league takes place between October and May each year with a two-month break in December and January.
Vatican Library
In 1451, bibliophile Pope Nicholas V sought to establish a public library at the Vatican, in part to re-establish Rome as a destination for scholarship. Nicholas combined some 350 Greek, Latin and Hebrew codices inherited from his predecessors with his own collection and extensive acquisitions, among them manuscripts from the imperial Library of Constantinople. Pope Nicholas also expanded his collection by employing Italian and Byzantine scholars to translate the Greek classics into Latin for his library. The knowledgeable Pope already encouraged the inclusion of pagan classics. Nicolas was important in saving many of the Greek works and writings during this time period that he had collected while traveling and acquired from others.
Monarchies in Europe
Differently from the Holy See, in existence for almost two thousand years, the Vatican City was not a sovereign state until the 20th century. In the 19th century the annexation of the Papal States by the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the subsequent establishment of the Kingdom of Italy, was not recognized by the Vatican. However, by the Lateran treaty of 1929, the Kingdom of Italy recognized Vatican City as an independent state, and "vice versa". Since then, the elected monarch of the Vatican City state has been the current pope. The pope still officially carries the title "King of the Ecclesiastical State" (in Latin: Rex Status Ecclesiæ).
Vatican City
On 22 February 2011, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a new "Law concerning citizenship, residency and access" to Vatican City, which became effective on 1 March. It replaced the 1929 "Law concerning citizenship and residence". There are 16 articles in the new law, whereas the old law had 33 articles. It updated the old law by incorporating changes made after 1929, such as the 1940 granting of Vatican City citizenship, "durante munere", to the members of the Holy See's diplomatic service. It also created a new category, that of official Vatican "residents", i.e., people living in Vatican City; these are not necessarily Vatican citizens.
Pontifical Anthem
On October 16, 1949, Pope Pius XII declared it the papal anthem, replacing Viktorin Hallmayer's "Marcia trionfale" (1857), which, being still the papal anthem when the Vatican City State was founded in 1929, had been treated also as the new state's anthem. Gounod's "Marche Pontificale" was first performed in this new role during a ceremony on Christmas Eve of 1949, one day before the opening of the Holy Year 1950. The old state anthem too was played for a last time, almost as a token of respect.
Vatican Hill
The Vatican Hill was included within the city limits of Rome during the reign of Pope Leo IV, who, between 848 and 852, expanded the city walls to protect St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican. Thus, Vatican Hill has been within the walls and city limits of Rome for over 1100 years. Until the Lateran Treaties in 1929 it was part of the Rione of Borgo.
Old Catholic Church
After the First Vatican Council (1869–1870), several groups of Catholics in Austria-Hungary, Imperial Germany, and Switzerland rejected the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals and left to form their own churches. These were supported by the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, who ordained priests and bishops for them. Later the Dutch were united more formally with many of these groups under the name "Utrecht Union of Churches".
Vatican Necropolis
According to tradition, the Apostle Peter was martyred in the year 64 or 67 during the reign of Emperor Nero. Peter is said to be buried in the necropolis because of its proximity to the Circus of Nero where he was martyred. After the Edict of Milan the Emperor Constantine began construction of the first St. Peter's Church, also known as Old St. Peter's Basilica. At this time, the Roman necropolis was still in use. This is known because a coin was found inside an urn dating from 318 AD. During this time, the necropolis was protected by law and was untouchable. However, Emperor Constantine I decided to build a basilica, which would be located just above the supposed grave of the Apostle Peter. To obtain the necessary amount of flat area for the planned construction, Emperor Constantine I excavated part of the necropolis of the Vatican hill, which can be seen in the figure. This caused the necropolis to be filled with soil and building debris, with the exception of St. Peter's tomb, which was preserved.
Holy See
The State of the Vatican City was created by the Lateran Treaty in 1929 to "ensure the absolute and visible independence of the Holy See" and "to guarantee to it an indisputable sovereignty in international affairs." Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Holy See's former Secretary for Relations with States, said that the Vatican City is a "minuscule support-state that guarantees the spiritual freedom of the Pope with the minimum territory".
Prisoner in the Vatican
For the next 59 years, the popes refused to leave the Vatican in order to avoid any appearance of accepting the authority wielded by the Italian government over Rome as a whole. During this period, popes also refused to appear at Saint Peter's Square or at the balcony of the Vatican Basilica facing it, as the square in front of the basilica was occupied by Italian troops. During this period, popes granted the "Urbi et Orbi" blessings from a balcony facing a courtyard, or from inside the basilica, and papal coronations were instead held at the Sistine Chapel. The period ended in 1929, when the Lateran Treaty created the modern state of Vatican City.
Military in Vatican City
The Pontifical Swiss Guard () was formed in 1506 by Pope Julius II. The unit was formed as the personal bodyguard of the Pope. At various points in its history the Swiss Guard has seen active service, but following the 1870 abolition of the Papal States it returned to its chief role as a bodyguard, with a limited ceremonial role, and survived into the period of the Vatican City State, as a "de facto" Vatican military unit from 1929.
Ages of consent in Europe
When the Vatican City was first formed, it adopted the then-Italian age of consent of 12 as per the Lateran Treaty of 1929. Until July 2013 it had the lowest age of consent in Europe, but after that month, when the Pope made his decree, it became the highest.
Geography of Vatican City
Vatican City sits on a low hill. The hill has been called the Vatican Hill (in Latin, "Mons Vaticanus") since long before Christianity existed. An Etruscan settlement, possibly called "Vatica" or "Vaticum", may have existed in the area generally known by the ancient Romans as "Vatican territory" "(vaticanus ager"), but if so no archaeological trace of it has been discovered.
Italy
The Holy See, the episcopal jurisdiction of Rome, contains the central government of the Roman Catholic Church. It is recognised by other subjects of international law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, who is also the Bishop of Rome, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained. Often incorrectly referred to as "the Vatican", the Holy See is not the same entity as the Vatican City State, which came into existence only in 1929.
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.
Palatine Guard
The Palatine Guard () was a military unit of the Vatican. It was formed in 1850 by Pope Pius IX, who ordered that the two militia units of the Papal States be amalgamated. The corps was formed as an infantry unit, and took part in watch-keeping in Rome. The only occasion on which it saw active service was during the token resistance on 20 September 1870 to the occupation of Rome by Italian government troops.
Catholic Church in the 20th century
On 11 October 1962 Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council, the 21st ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council was "pastoral" in nature, emphasising and clarifying already defined dogma, revising liturgical practices, and providing guidance for articulating traditional Church teachings in contemporary times. The council is perhaps best known for its instructions that the Mass may be celebrated in the vernacular as well as in Latin.
Flag of Vatican City
After the Lateran Treaty was signed in 1929, papal authorities decided to use the 1825 merchant flag as the state flag of the soon to be independent Vatican City state. However, the official drawing in the constitution used a drawing of the square 1862 infantry flag as a template. The treaty came into effect on 7 June 1929, and with it the newly-square Vatican flag.
Vatican Radio
Set up in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave (also DRM), medium wave, FM, satellite and the Internet. Since its inception, Vatican Radio has been maintained by the Jesuit Order. Vatican Radio preserved its independence during the rise of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Following the outbreak of World War II, a week after Pope Pius XII ordered the programming, Vatican Radio broadcast the news that Poles and Jews were being rounded up and forced into ghettos.
Vatican Observatory
Father Angelo Secchi SJ relocated the College Observatory to the top of Sant'Ignazio di Loyola a Campo Marzio (Church of St. Ignatius in Rome). In 1870, with the capture of Rome, the College Observatory fell into the hands of the Italian Government. Out of respect for his work, however, Father Secchi was permitted to continue using the Observatory. After Secchi's death in 1878 the Observatory was nationalized by the Italian government and renamed the "Regio Osservatorio al Collegio Romano" ("Royal Observatory at the Roman College"), ending astronomical research in the Vatican.
In 1891, however, Pope Leo XIII issued a Motu Proprio re-founding the "Specola Vaticana" (Vatican Observatory) and a new observatory was built on the walls at the edge of the Vatican. The new Vatican Observatory remained there for the next forty years.
By the 1930s, the smoke and sky-glow of the city had made it impossible to conduct useful observations in Rome. Pope Pius XI relocated the Observatory to Castel Gandolfo, which is southeast of Rome. By 1961, the same problems with light pollution made observing difficult at Castel Gandolfo. The Observatory then established the Vatican Observatory Research Group, with offices at the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.
Vaticanology
Vaticanology is term coined in the 20th century to describe the field of journalism and research studying and reporting about how the Holy See and the Roman Catholic Church operate. It is named after the Vatican City, the Holy See's sovereign territory enclaved with in Rome, Italy. Particular emphasis tend to be placed on the selection and appointment mechanisms by which the Church's leadership emerges.
Postage stamps and postal history of Vatican City
The Vatican post office has operated its own postal service and issued its own postage stamps since 1929.
Coats of arms of the Holy See and Vatican City
The coat of arms of Vatican City State, a sovereign entity established by the Lateran Treaty of 11 February 1929, was adopted by the Fundamental Law of the new state on 7 June 1929, and has its coat of arms defined by law as having the silver key in bend and the gold key in bend sinister.
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Catholic Church and evolution
The concentration of concern on the implications of evolutionary theory for the human species was to remain typical of Catholic reactions. No Vatican response was made to this, which some have taken to imply agreement. No mention of evolution was made in the pronouncements of the First Vatican Council in 1868. In the following decades, a consistently and aggressively anti-evolution position was taken by the influential Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, which, though unofficial, was generally believed to have accurate information about the views and actions of the Vatican authorities. The opening in 1998 of the Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (in the 19th century called the Holy Office and the Congregation of the Index) has revealed that on many crucial points this belief was mistaken, and the journal's accounts of specific cases, often the only ones made public, were not accurate. The original documents show the Vatican's attitude was much less fixed than appeared to be the case at the time.
Phủ Cam Cathedral
The head of the Roman Catholic Church established a Resident Superior Head Office of the Vatican in Vietnam (which oversaw Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos together) next to the former cathedral in Huế (that was demolished to make way for the current Phủ Cam Cathedral) on May 20, 1925. This office was then moved to Hanoi in 1951.
Holy See
The apostolic see of Rome was established in the 1st century by Saint Peter ("Prince of the Apostles") and Saint Paul, then the capital of the Roman Empire, according to Catholic tradition. The legal status of the Catholic Church and its property was recognised by the Edict of Milan in 313 by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, and it became the state church of the Roman Empire by the Edict of Thessalonica in 380.
Vatican and Eastern Europe (1846–1958)
The relations with Russia changed drastically for a second reason. The Baltic states and Poland gained their independence from Russia after World War I, thus enabling a relatively free church life in those former Russian countries. Estonia was the first country to look for Vatican ties. On 11 April 1919, Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri informed the Estonian authorities that the Vatican would agree to have diplomatic relations. A concordat was agreed upon in principle a year later, in June 1920. Because of the small Catholic population in predominantly Protestant Estonia, the handful of Catholic priests there continued to be administered from Latvia until 1924. Development of an independent Catholic hierarchy for Estonia began late in that year with the formation of the Apostolic Administration of Estonia in November.
Catholic Church
The Italian unification of the 1860s incorporated the Papal States, including Rome itself from 1870, into the Kingdom of Italy, thus ending the papacy's millennial temporal power. In response, Pope Pius IX excommunicated King Victor Emmanuel II, refused payment for the land, and rejected the Italian Law of Guarantees, which granted him special privileges. To avoid placing himself in visible subjection to the Italian authorities remained a "prisoner in the Vatican". This stand-off, which was spoken of as the "Roman Question", was resolved by the 1929 Lateran Treaties, whereby the Holy See acknowledged Italian sovereignty over the former Papal States in return for payment and Italy's recognition of papal sovereignty over Vatican City as a new sovereign and independent state.
Vatican Library
Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455) envisioned a new Rome with extensive public works to lure pilgrims and scholars alike to the city to begin its transformation. Nicolas decided that he wanted to create a 'public library' for Rome that was meant to be seen as an institution for humanist scholarship. His death prevented him from carrying out his plan of a public library, but his idea lived on with his successor Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484) who established what is now known as the Vatican Library.
Vatican and Eastern Europe (1846–1958)
Jāzeps Rancāns became the first representative of the fledgling Latvian government at the Vatican in October 1919. Hermanis Albats negotiated a concordat between Latvia and the Holy See in May 1921. The concordat of 1922 was signed 30 May 1922. It guaranteed freedom for the Catholic Church, established an archdiocese, liberated clergy from military service, allows the creation of seminaries and catholic schools and described church property rights and immunity. The Archbishop swore alliance to Latvia.
Vatican City
Popes gradually came to have a secular role as governors of regions near Rome. They ruled the Papal States, which covered a large portion of the Italian peninsula, for more than a thousand years until the mid-19th century, when all the territory belonging to the papacy was seized by the newly created Kingdom of Italy.
Catholic Church and ecumenism
Real rapprochement was achieved under the leadership of Pope John XXIII, whose foundation of the "Secretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity" encouraged Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher to make a historic, though not entirely official, visit to the Vatican in 1960. Subsequently, the Bishop of Ripon, John Moorman, led a delegation of Anglican observers to the Second Vatican Council. In 1966, Archbishop Michael Ramsey made an official visit to Pope Paul VI, and in the following year, the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) was established. Its first project focused on the authority of Scripture, and the Commission has since produced nine agreed statements. Phase One of ARCIC ended in 1981 with the publication of a final report, "Elucidations on Authority in the Church". Phase Two has been ongoing since 1983. The most recent agreed statement dealt with Marian theology, and was published in 2004.
History of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
In 1929 Mussolini signed the Lateran Pacts with the Roman Catholic Church (with which Italy had been in conflict since the annexation of Rome in 1870), leading to the formation of the tiny independent state of Vatican City. He was initially on friendly terms with France and Britain, but the situation changed in 1935–36, when Italy invaded the Ethiopian Empire despite their opposition (Second Italo-Abyssinian War); because of this and of the ideological affinities with the Nazi party led by Hitler. It was a main part of the Axis Powers in World War II with allies being Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany as the "Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis".
Canon law of the Catholic Church
In the succeeding decades, some parts of the 1917 Code were retouched, especially under Pope Pius XII. In 1959, Pope John XXIII announced, together with his intention to call the Second Vatican Council a Synod of the Diocese of Rome, that the 1917 Code would be completely revised. In 1963, the commission appointed to undertake the task decided to delay the project until the Council had been concluded. After the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (Vatican II) closed in 1965, it became apparent that the Code would need to be revised in light of the documents and theology of Vatican II. When work finally began, almost two decades of study and discussion on drafts of the various sections were needed before Pope John Paul II could promulgate the revised edition, which came into force on 27 November 1983, having been promulgated via the apostolic constitution "Sacrae Disciplinae Leges" of 25 January 1983. Containing 1752 canons, it is the law currently binding on the Latin Church.
Papal mint
Vatican City was established as a separate state in 1929. The Italian mint makes coins for the micro-state which issues its own euros.
Association of Vatican Lay Workers
The ADLV was formed in 1985 and was recognized by the Vatican authorities in 1993. The first ever strike in the Vatican was organized by the ADLV in 1988.
History of the Catholic Church
According to Catholic tradition, the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ. The New Testament records Jesus' activities and teaching, his appointment of the twelve Apostles, and his instructions to them to continue his work. The Catholic Church teaches that the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in an event known as Pentecost, signaled the beginning of the public ministry of the Church. Catholics hold that Saint Peter was Rome's first bishop and the consecrator of Linus as its next bishop, thus starting the unbroken line which includes the current pontiff, Pope Francis. That is, the Catholic Church maintains the apostolic succession of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope – the successor to Saint Peter.
Languages of Vatican City
What became Vatican City was from 1870 to 1929 part of the Kingdom of Italy, whose official language also was Italian, and before 1870 it was part of the Papal States, in which standard Italian (based on Tuscan) and various Italian dialects, such as Emiliano-Romagnolo, were spoken, but which for the first centuries of its existence used Latin for all official purposes. Earlier still, it was part of the Roman Empire. In the earliest historical records the term "Vatican" was used to refer to a marshy area, larger than the Vatican City State, on the right bank of the Tiber River, between the Milvio Bridge and the present Sixtus Bridge. During the monarchy and the republican age, the area was known as "Ager Vaticanus". From the 2nd century A.D., the toponym "Vaticanum" was applied to an area corresponding roughly to the present Vatican City State.
Prisoner in the Vatican
The stand-off was ended on 11 February 1929, when the Lateran Pacts created a new microstate, that of Vatican City, and opened the way for diplomatic relations between Italy and the Holy See. The Holy See in turn recognized the Kingdom of Italy, with Rome as its capital, thus ending the situation whereby the popes had felt constrained to remain within the Vatican. Subsequently, the popes resumed visiting their cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, situated on the opposite side of the city of Rome, and to travel regularly to their summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, from Rome.
Papal primacy
At the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) the debate on papal primacy and authority re-emerged, and in the dogmatic constitution "Lumen gentium", the Catholic Church's teaching on the authority of the pope, bishops and councils was further elaborated. Vatican II sought to correct the unbalanced ecclesiology left behind by Vatican I. The result is the body of teaching about the papacy and episcopacy contained in "Lumen gentium".
Prisoner in the Vatican
A prisoner in the Vatican or prisoner of the Vatican (; ) is how Pope Pius IX was described following the capture of Rome by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy on 20 September 1870. Part of the process of Italian unification, the city's capture ended the millennial temporal rule of the popes over central Italy and allowed Rome to be designated the capital of the new nation. The appellation is also applied to Pius's successors through Pope Pius XI.