VATICAN

The Holy See (State of the Vatican City)

Santa Sede (Stato della Cittá del Vaticano)

CAPITAL: Vatican City

FLAG: The flag consists of two vertical stripes, yellow at the hoist and white at the fly. On the white field, in yellow, are the crossed keys of St. Peter, the first pope, surmounted by the papal tiara (triple crown).

ANTHEM: Pontifical March (no words).

MONETARY UNIT: In 1930, after a lapse of 60 years, the Vatican resumed issuance of its own coinage—the lira (l)—but it agreed to issue no more than 300 million lire in any year. There are coins of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 lire. Both Italy and the Vatican adopted the euro as official currency in 2002. The euro is divided into 100 cents. There are coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents and 1 euro and 2 euros. There are notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 euros. The Vatican lira is fixed at 1,936.17 lire per euro. €1 = $1.25475 (or $1 = €0.79697) as of 2005.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is in use.

HOLIDAYS: Roman Catholic religious holidays; the coronation day of the reigning pope; days when public consistory is held.

TIME: 1 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Located within Rome, Vatican City is the smallest state in Europe and in the world. It is a roughly triangular area of 0.44 sq km (0.17 sq mi) lying near the west bank of the Tiber River and to the west of the Castel Sant'Angelo. On the w and s it is bounded by the Leonine Wall. The Vatican area comprises the following: St. Peter's Square, enclosed by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini's quadruple colonnade; St. Peter's Basilica, the largest Christian church in the world, to which the square serves as an entrance; a quadrangular area north of the square in which there are administrative buildings and Belvedere Park; the pontifical palaces, or the Vatican proper, lying west of Belvedere Park; and the Vatican Gardens, which occupy about half the acreage.

Outside Vatican City itself, extraterritoriality is exercised over a number of churches and palaces in Rome, notably the Lateran Basilica and Palace in the Piazza San Giovanni, the Palace of San Callisto at the foot of the Janiculum hill, and the basilicas of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Paolo fuori le Mura. Extraterritoriality outside the city of Rome extends to the papal villa and its environs (almost 40 hectares/100 acres) at Castel Gandolfo, 24 km (15 mi) se of Rome, and to the area (about 420 hectares/1,040 acres) at Santa Maria di Galeria, some 19 km (12 mi) n of Rome, where a Vatican radio station was established in 1957.

TOPOGRAPHY

Vatican City lies on a slight hill not far from the Tiber River.

CLIMATE

Winters are mild, and although summer temperatures are high during the day, the evenings are cold. Temperatures in January average 7°c (45°f); in July, 24°c (75°f). There is little rain from May to September; October and November are the wettest months.

FLORA AND FAUNA

The gardens are famous for their fine collection of orchids and other exotic flora. Vatican City, being entirely urban, does not have a distinctive fauna.

ENVIRONMENT

The environment of Vatican City is similar to that of Rome (see Italy). Though there are no specific endangered species, according to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) there are five species with minimal or least concern. These are the long-tailed field mouse, the European water vole, the Crucian carp, the bank vole, and the red fox.

POPULATION

The population of Holy See in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 798, which placed it at number 193 in population among the 193 nations of the world. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–10 was expected to be 0.9%, a rate the government viewed as satisfactory. The projected population for the year 2025 was 1,000. The population density was 2273 per sq km (5887 per sq mi).

MIGRATION

Does not apply.

ETHNIC GROUPS

Although the citizenry of the Vatican includes cardinals and other clergymen from all parts of the world, most of the inhabitants are Italian. The members of the Swiss Guard are a notable exception. Pope Benedict XVI is German.

LANGUAGES

Italian is the official language of Vatican City, but Latin is the official language of the Holy See (the seat of jurisdiction of the pope as spiritual leader) and is employed for most papal encyclicals and other formal pronouncements. As the ordinary working language, Italian is in greater use. French, German, and other languages are used.

RELIGIONS

Vatican City is the center of the worldwide organization of the Roman Catholic Church and the seat of the pope. Roman Catholicism is the official religion and the primary business of the state itself.

TRANSPORTATION

Vatican City is easily reached by the public transportation system of Rome. It has its own railroad station, with 862 m (2,828 ft) of track, which connect to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station. Vatican City also has a helicopter landing pad.

HISTORY

Since the time of St. Peter, regarded by the Church as the first pope, Rome has been the seat of the popes, except in periods of great turbulence, when the pontiffs were forced to take refuge elsewhere, most notably in Avignon, France, from 1309 to 1377. The Roman papal residence before modern times was usually in the Lateran or Quirinal rather than in the Vatican Palace.

The Vatican City State and the places over which the Vatican now exercises jurisdiction are the sole remnants of the States of the Church, or Papal States, which at various times, beginning in 755, included large areas in Italy and, until the French Revolution, even parts of southern France. Most of the papal domain fell into the hands of King Victor Emmanuel II in 1860 in the course of the unification of Italy. By 1870, Pope Pius IX, supported by a garrison of French troops, retained rule over only the besieged city of Rome and a small territory surrounding it. Upon the withdrawal of the French garrison to take part in the Franco-Prussian War, the walls of Rome were breached by the besieging forces on 20 September, and the city fell. On 2 October, following a plebiscite, the city was annexed to the kingdom of Italy and made the national capital.

In May 1871, the Italian government promulgated a Law of Guarantees, which purported to establish the relations between the Italian kingdom and the papacy. The enactment declared the person of the pope to be inviolate, guaranteed him full liberty in his religious functions and in the conduct of diplomatic relations, awarded an annual indemnity in lieu of the income lost when the Papal States were annexed, and provided the right of extraterritoriality over the Vatican and the papal palaces. Pius IX refused to accept the law or the money allowance; he and his successors chose to become "prisoners of the Vatican." Until 1919, Roman Catholics were prohibited by the papacy from participating in the Italian government.

The so-called Roman Question was brought to an end by the conclusion on 11 February 1929 of three Lateran treaties between the Vatican and Italy. One treaty recognized the full sovereignty of the Vatican and established its territorial extent. Another treaty was a concordat establishing the Roman Catholic Church as the state church of Italy. The remaining treaty awarded the Vatican 750 million old lire in cash and one billion old lire in interest-bearing state bonds in lieu of all financial claims against Italy for annexing the Papal States. The constitution of the Italian Republic, adopted in 1947, substantially embodies the terms of the Lateran treaties. In 1962–65, the Vatican was the site of the Second Vatican Council, the first worldwide council in almost a century. Convened by Pope John XXIII and continued under Paul VI, the Council resulted in modernization of the Church's role in spiritual and social matters.

Ecumenism was the hallmark of the reign (1963–78) of Pope Paul VI. In a move to further Christian unity, he met with Athenagoras, the ecumenical patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, in Jerusalem in 1964. In 1973, Paul VI conferred with the Coptic Orthodox patriarch of Alexandria; later in that same year, he met the exiled Dalai Lama, the first such meeting between a pope and a Buddhist leader. Steps were also taken to improve Roman Catholic-Jewish relations, including a 1965 declaration that Jews are not to be held collectively guilty of the death of Jesus. On doctrinal questions Pope Paul VI was generally conservative, reaffirming papal infallibility, disciplining dissident priests, and reiterating traditional Church opposition to all "artificial" methods of contraception, including abortion and sterilization. In September 1972, the concept of an all-male celibate priesthood was upheld.

Pope Paul VI was succeeded by Pope John Paul I, who reigned for only 34 days. John Paul I's sudden death, on 28 September 1978, brought about the election of Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as John Paul II, the first non-Italian pontiff elected in over 450 years. On 13 May 1981, John Paul II was wounded in Vatican Square by a Turkish gunman, who is serving a life sentence. The alleged accomplices, three Bulgarians and three Turks, were acquitted of conspiracy in the assassination attempt on 29 March 1986 because of lack of evidence.

During his reign (1978–2005), John Paul II traveled widely, a practice begun by Paul VI. He also established himself as a conservative in doctrinal matters, as indicated in 1982 by his elevation to the status of personal prelature of Opus Dei, an international organization of 72,000 laity and priests known for its doctrinal fidelity. He spent much of his papacy railing against materialism and moral laxity. During John Paul II's papacy, the Lateran treaties of 1929 were superseded in 1984 by a new concordat under which the pope retained temporal authority over Vatican City but Roman Catholicism was no longer Italy's state religion.

Throughout the 1990s, John Paul tried to build bridges to the Islamic world. Iran's president visited the Vatican in 1999 and a controversial trip to Iraq to talk to Saddam Hussein was cancelled that same year. He also traveled to Israel in March 2000 where he visited different Holocaust memorials during this trip and went to Bethlehem to reaffirm the Holy See's support for an independent Palestinian homeland.

John Paul II came out against embryonic or stem-cell research in 2001, stating it would lead to other evils such as "euthanasia and infanticide." Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, John Paul II urged harmony between Christians and Muslims. He initially stated that conflicts must not be resolved by force, but by peaceful negotiation; however, he subsequently indicated the United States might need to use force against terrorists in the name of self-defense. When the Al Aqsa intifada—begun in September 2000 in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip—intensified in the spring of 2002, John Paul II appealed for peace in the region, saying "nothing is resolved by war." He also reasserted his firm belief in peace over the use of force during the 2002–03 diplomatic and military crisis in Iraq. Nevertheless, his criticism of the conflict did not prevent war. Following the defeat of the Saddam Hussein regime in April 2003, John Paul II stated the Iraqi people should be responsible for the rebuilding of Iraq, while working closely with the international community, meaning the UN.

The Vatican announced in December 2002 it would open its archives relating to interactions with Nazi Germany from 1922–39 to scholars. The Catholic Church has been criticized for not doing enough to stop the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust.

Following the eruption of sex scandals in the United States regarding pedophile priests, John Paul II called for an emergency meeting with US cardinals in April 2002. US bishops had approved a "zero tolerance" policy on priests accused of sexual abuse, which would have priests suspended immediately following an accusation of abuse, but the Vatican demanded certain protections for the rights of priests.

In May 2003, the Vatican officially confirmed the pope suffered from Parkinson's disease. Despite his illness and his suffering from severe arthritis, John Paul II continued to travel exhaustively until his death on 2 April 2005.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a close confidante of John Paul II, was chosen on 19 April 2005 as the next pope, and was given the name Pope Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, originally from Cologne, Germany, was 78 years old at the time of his election; this made him the oldest pope ever elected. He predicted that his tenure would be short and that his primary purpose would be to complete John Paul II's work. He was formally installed as pope on 24 April 2005. As a cardinal, Ratzinger was known as a hard-line advocate of Vatican orthodoxy. He strongly opposed abortion, homosexuality, and religious pluralism. A long-time friend and ally of John Paul II, Ratzinger's selection as pope was greeted with dismay by more liberal factions within the Catholic Church. Many feared that he would divide, rather than unite, Catholics worldwide. In the early months of his papacy, Pope Benedict XVI supported the conservative stance of his predecessor. In May 2005, Benedict XVI called on voters in Italy to boycott a referendum that would repeal restrictions on artificial insemination and embryonic research. However, in October 2005, the Vatican completed a document that appeared to relax its stance against homosexuality somewhat. A change in policy on those entering the priesthood suggested that gay men who had lived a chaste life for at least three years prior to their admission to a seminary would be eligible. Previously, the Vatican banned homosexuals from priesthood, regardless of their status.

GOVERNMENT

The pope is simultaneously the absolute sovereign of the Vatican City State and the head of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world. Since 1984, the pope has been represented by the cardinal secretary of state in the civil governance of Vatican City. In administering the government of the Vatican, the pope is assisted by the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State. Religious affairs are governed under the pope's direction by a number of ecclesiastical bodies known collectively as the Roman Curia.

The Pontifical Commission consists of seven cardinals and a lay special delegate, assisted since 1968 by a board of 21 lay advisers. Under the commission are the following: a central council (heading various administrative offices); the directorships of museums, technical services, economic services (including the postal and telegraph systems), and medical services; the guard; the Vatican radio system and television center; the Vatican observatory; and the directorship of the villa at Castel Gandolfo, the traditional summer residence of popes.

Much of the work of the Roman Curia is conducted by offices called sacred congregations, each headed by a cardinal appointed for a five-year period. These are the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (responsible for faith and morals, including the examination and, if necessary, prohibition of books and other writings), the Sacred Congregation for Bishops (diocesan affairs), the Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Churches (relations between Eastern and Latin Rites), the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments, the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy, the Sacred Congregation for Religious Orders and Secular Institutes (monastic and lay communities), the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (missions), the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints (beatification and canonization), and the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education (seminaries and religious schools). There are also secretariats for Christian unity, non-Christians, and nonbelievers, and there are permanent and temporary councils and commissions for various other functions.

A pope serves from his election until death. On his decease, the College of Cardinals is called into conclave to choose a successor from their number. The usual method is to vote on the succession; in this case, the cardinal who receives two-thirds plus one of the votes of those present is declared elected. Pending the election, most Vatican business is held in abeyance.

Before the reign of Pope John XXIII, the size of the College of Cardinals was limited to 70. Pope John raised the membership to 88, and his successor, Pope Paul VI, increased the number to 136. Paul VI also decreed that as of 1 January 1971, cardinals would cease to be members of departments of the Curia upon reaching the age of 80 and would lose the right to participate in the election of a pope. In 2001, Pope John Paul II created 44 new cardinals, and the number of cardinals in the college at that time was 184, representing 68 countries. The 2005 conclave to select John Paul II's successor included 117 cardinals.

POLITICAL PARTIES

Does not apply.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Does not apply.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

For ordinary legal matters occurring within Vatican territory, there is a tribunal of first instance. Criminal cases are tried in Italian courts. There are three tribunals at the Vatican for religious cases. The Apostolic Penitentiary determines questions of penance and absolution from sin. The Roman Rota deals principally with marital issues but is also competent to handle appeals from any decisions of lower ecclesiastical courts. In exceptional cases, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature hears appeals from the Rota, which ordinarily is the court of last resort.

New codes of canon law for the government of the Latin Rite churches and the administration of the Curia were promulgated in 1918 and 1983. Eastern Rite churches have their own canon law.

ARMED FORCES

The papal patrol force now consists only of the Swiss Guard, who, sometimes armed with such ceremonial weapons as halberds, walk their posts in picturesque striped uniforms supposedly designed by Michelangelo. The force was founded in 1506 and is recruited from several Roman Catholic cantons of Switzerland. It now numbers approximately 100 members. There is also a civilian security force, responsible to the Central Office of Security, which protects Vatican personnel and property, and the art treasures owned by the Church. The Vatican maintains its own jail.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Vatican City's diplomatic relations are conducted by its secretariat of state and the Council for Public Affairs of the Church. The Vatican holds permanent observer status in the United Nations and several specialized agencies, such as UNESCO, IAEA, UNEP, WHO, the World Food Program (WFP), United Nations Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS), and the FAO. The Vatican is also an observer with the African Union and the WTO. It is a member of the OSCE, holds a guest seat in the Nonaligned Movement, and participates in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

ECONOMY

The Vatican, being essentially an administrative center, is dependent for its support on the receipt of charitable contributions, the fees charged those able to pay for the services of the congregations and other ecclesiastical bodies, and interest on investments. Funds are also raised from the sale of stamps, religious literature, and mementos and from museum admissions. Vatican City's economy is not commercial in the usual sense.

The labor force is small and is primarily employed in services and small industry. Most of the people working in the Vatican (dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay workers) live outside the city.

In 2002, the city budget totaled $245.2 million, while expenditures reached $260.4 million.

INCOME

Does not apply.

LABOR

The labor force consists mainly of priests and other ecclesiastics, who serve as consultants or councilors; about 3,000 laborers, who live outside the Vatican; the guards; the nuns, who do the cooking, cleaning, laundering, and tapestry repair; and the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and other higher dignitaries. Some ecclesiastical officials live outside Vatican City and commute from the secular city. The Association of Vatican Lay Workers, a trade union, has 1,800 members.

Lay employees of the Vatican have always had to be Roman Catholics and swear loyalty to the Pope. Under a new set of rules of conduct implemented in October 1995, new employees have to sign a statement binding them to observe the moral doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.

AGRICULTURE

Does not apply.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Does not apply.

FISHING

Does not apply.

FORESTRY

Does not apply.

MINING

Does not apply.

ENERGY AND POWER

As of 1 November 2005, all electric power was supplied by Italy, but the Vatican's generating plant had a capacity of 5,000 kW in 1990.

INDUSTRY

A studio in the Vatican produces mosaic work, and a sewing establishment produces uniforms. There is a large printing plant, the Vatican Polyglot Press, which produces coins, medals, and postage stamps.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Vatican promotes the study of science and mathematics through the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which dates from 1603. The Vatican Observatory was begun by Pope Gregory XIII. It has modern instruments, an astrophysics laboratory, and a 33,000-volume library.

DOMESTIC TRADE

The Vatican is basically a noncommercial economy, with no major imports or exports. Primary domestic industries include printing, mosaics, and staff uniforms. Products for retail sale are primarily postage stamps, tourist souvenirs, and publications.

FOREIGN TRADE

Does not apply, as the Vatican does not really have foreign trade. Its entire economy is based on tourism and donations (known as Peter's Pence) from Catholics around the world. However, the Vatican remains extremely wealthy despite its complete lack of natural resources because of the priceless artwork it possesses.

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

Does not apply.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

The Vatican bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works (Istituto per le Opere di Religione—IOR), was founded in 1942. It carries out fiscal operations and invests and transfers the funds of the Vatican and of Roman Catholic religious communities throughout the world. The Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See manages the Vatican's capital assets.

INSURANCE

Does not apply.

PUBLIC FINANCE

State income is derived from fees paid by the public for visiting the art galleries and from the sale of Vatican City postage stamps, tourist mementos, and publications. The Vatican also receives income in the form of voluntary contributions (Peter's pence) from all over the world and from interest on investments. The Prefecture for Economic Affairs coordinates Vatican finances.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2002 the Holy See's central government took in revenues of approximately $245.2 million and had expenditures of $260.4 million. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$15.2 million.

TAXATION

Residents of Vatican City pay no taxes.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

Vatican City imposes no customs tariffs.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

No recent figures are available.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Vatican administers industrial, real estate, and artistic holdings valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Investments have been in a wide range of enterprises, with makers of contraceptives and munitions specifically excepted.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Celibacy is required of all Roman Catholic clergy, except permanent deacons. The Church upholds the concept of family planning through such traditional methods as rhythm and abstinence but resolutely opposes such "artificial methods" as contraceptive pills and devices, as well as abortion and sterilization. Five important papal encyclicals—Rerum Novarum (1870), Quadragesimo Anno (1931), Mater et Magistra (1961), Pacem in Terris (1963), and Laborem Exercens (1981)—have enunciated the Church position on matters of workers' rights and social and international justice.

HEALTH

The health services directorate, under the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State, is responsible for health matters.

HOUSING

A small portion of the Vatican Palace (about 200 out of 1,000 rooms) serve as the residence for the pope, the secretary of state, high court officials, high officials in close attendance to the pope, and some administrative and scientific officials. Quarters for the Swiss Guard and the gendarmes are also located in the palace. Some officials and visitors find housing in Italy just outside of the Vatican borders. There is no information available on other housing within the state itself.

EDUCATION

The Vatican is a major center for higher education for Roman Catholic clergy, particularly those being trained for upper level church positions. Adult literacy is 100%. About 65 papal educational institutions are scattered throughout Rome; some of the more important (all prefixed by the word "Pontifical") are the Gregorian University, the Biblical Institute, the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Lateran Athenaeum, the Institute of Christian Archaeology, and the Institute of Sacred Music. There were a total of 14,403 students in 1996 with 1,872 teaching staff in all higherlevel institutions.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The Apostolic Library of the Vatican is one of the most famous in the world. Founded in 1450 by Pope Nicholas V, the collection includes more than 1.1 million books, 72,000 manuscripts, 8,300 incunabula, 80,000 archival files, and 100,000 engravings. The Vatican Secret Archives, so called because originally they were strictly private records of the Vatican affairs, were opened to students in 1880. Literary scholars come from all over the world to study the collection of manuscripts. In 1994, librarians began entering the entire card catalogue of printed books into a computerized file accessible via the Internet.

Besides over a dozen museums, some of which figure among the greatest in the world, Vatican City includes as part of its decoration frescoes painted by Raphael (in the Stanze), Michelangelo (in the Sistine and Pauline Chapels), and other great Renaissance artists. In April 1994, after more than 14 years of careful cleaning, Michelangelo's frescoes became fully visible again. Among the museums in the Vatican are the Pius Clementine, the Chiaramonti, and New Wing (exhibiting antique sculpture); the Gregorian Etruscan and the Gregorian Egyptian museums; the Pinacoteca (paintings); the Collection of Modern Religious Art; the frescoed chapels, rooms, and galleries; and the Sacred and the Profane museums, which are administered by the Vatican Library.

MEDIA

The state maintains its own telegraph and postal facilities and has a 2,000-line automatic telephone exchange tied into the Italian system. Radio Vatican, founded in 1931, comprises two facilities, one in Vatican City proper and the other outside Rome at Santa Maria di Galeria. There are 3 AM and 4 FM stations; in addition, shortwave broadcasts can reach the entire world. Programs in 34 languages are broadcast regularly. There is also one television station. The Vatican Television Center, founded in 1983, produces and distributes religious programs. Agenzia Fides and Missionary Service News Agency are the primary news agencies.

Vatican City is an important center for publishing. A semiofficial newspaper of wide fame, L'Osservatore Romano, founded in 1861, is published daily, with an estimated 2002 circulation of 70,000 copies. Since 1934, the Vatican has also published L'Osservatore della Domenica, an illustrated weekly. The Acta Apostolicae Sedis (Record of the Apostolic See) appears regularly on a monthly basis and occasionally at other times; it publishes papal encyclicals and other official papers. An annual, the Annuario Pontificio, is issued as a record of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic hierarchy. The International Religious Press Service (Agenzia Internazionale Fides—AIF), founded in 1927, distributes news of missionary activity and publishes Information (weekly, in various languages, including English), Documentation (irregular), and Photographic Service (weekly).

In the mid-1990s, nearly 50 periodicals were published, with a total circulation of almost 60,000. The book publishers for the Vatican are the Vatican Editions (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), the Vatican Apostolic Library (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), and the Vatican Polyglot Press (Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana).

ORGANIZATIONS

The organizations at the Vatican are chiefly learned societies devoted to theology, science, archaeology, liturgy, and martyrdom. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences promotes study in mathematics and the physical and natural sciences. The Pontifical Council for Culture, founded in 1982, focuses on the study of unbelief and religious indifference, particularly concerning the cause and effect of nonreligious or antireligious attitudes in various cultures. The Apostleship of the Sea, based in the Vatican, is an organization of ship, port, and nautical school chaplains (and other sailors) who offer a wide variety of support to maritime workers and their families. Caritas International, representing social service organizations in 200 countries, is based in the Vatican. The World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations is also based in the Vatican.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

The Vatican is regularly visited by tourists in Rome, by pilgrims attracted by the jubilees proclaimed by the pope every 25 years, and by other special occasions. While there are no public accommodations in the Vatican, special inexpensive facilities are often arranged in Rome for pilgrims. No passport or identification is usually needed for admission to the public parts of the Vatican.

In 2005, the US Department of State estimated the average daily spending in the Vatican at $490.

FAMOUS POPES

By virtue of their position of world importance, many popes are persons of fame. Among those who greatly increased the secular power of the papacy were St. Gregory I (the Great, 540?–604), pope from 590 to 604, who also was influential in matters of doctrine, liturgy, and missionary work; St. Gregory VII (Hildebrand, 1020?–1085), pope from 1073 to 1085, who engaged in conflict with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, forcing him to do public penance at the village of Canossa, and later was driven from Rome by him; and Alexander VI (Rodrigo Lanzol y Borja, b. Spain, 1431?–1503), pope from 1492 to 1503, who also divided colonial territories in the New World between Spain and Portugal.

The most significant 19th-century pope was Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, 1792–1878), pope from 1846 to 1878, who lost the Papal States to the kingdom of Italy and convened the First Vatican Council (1869–70), which established the doctrine of papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The first popes who reigned since the establishment of the Vatican City State in 1929 were Pius XI (Achille Damiano Ratti, 1857–1939), from 1922 to 1939, and Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli, 1876–1958), from 1939 to 1958.

John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, 1881–1963), pope from 1958 to 1963, made history by convening the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), by altering the text of the canon of the mass for the first time since the 7th century, and by strongly defining the position of the Church on problems of labor and social progress (in his encyclical Mater et Magistra of June 1961). His greatest achievement was generally considered to be his eighth encyclical, Pacem in Terris (issued on 10 April 1963), a profound plea for peace, in which he hailed the UN as a defender of human rights.

Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini, 1897–1978), pope from 1963 to 1978, continued Pope John's effort to attain unity of the Christian world. On 4 October 1965, he addressed the UN General Assembly, appealing for world peace and international cooperation. He presided over the concluding sessions of the Second Vatican Council and traveled to many places, including the Holy Land.

Albino Luciani (1912–78), patriarch of Venice, was elected pope on 26 August 1978 and took the name John Paul I. He died on 28 September after a reign of only 34 days. His successor, John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla, 1920–2005), was elevated to the papacy on 16 October 1978. This former archbishop of Cracow was not only the first Polish pope but also the first non-Italian pope since the Renaissance. Despite suffering severe wounds in a 1981 assassination attempt, John Paul II continued to travel widely. To the dismay of Jewish and other leaders, John Paul II granted Austrian President Kurt Waldheim (b.1918) an audience in June 1987, despite accusations that Waldheim had taken part in war crimes during World War II when he was an officer in the German army. John Paul opposed abortion, contraception, homosexuality, divorce, the ordination of women, capital punishment, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and war. He died on 2 April 2005.

A German pope, Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger, b.1927) succeeded John Paul II in 2005, and continued the traditional Catholic doctrines mapped out by his predecessor.

DEPENDENCIES

The Vatican has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Duursma, Jorri. Self-Determination, Statehood, and International Relations of Micro-States: The Cases of Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco, Andorra, and the Vatican City. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Hartt, Frederick. Michelangelo Buonarroti. New York: H.N. Abrams, 2004.

McDowell, Bart. Inside the Vatican. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2005.

Reese, Thomas J. Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1996.

Rhodes, Anthony Richard Ewart. The Vatican in the Age of the Cold War, 1945–1980. Norwich: Michael Russell, 1992.

Tronzo, William (ed.). St. Peter's in the Vatican. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

VATICAN

VATICAN , residence of the *pope, who is the ruler of Vatican City in Rome.

The Vatican and Zionism

Theodor Herzl was the first Zionist leader to understand the political importance of the Catholic Church in the Middle East. He also realized the necessity for Zionists to come to terms with the Church and gain its support or at least try to neutralize its influence. The Vatican wished to safeguard Catholic rights in the holy places, and therefore Herzl was ready to propose an extraterritorial status for the holy places when he was received by the nuncio in Vienna, Msgr. Antonio Agliardi, on May 19, 1896, a short time after the publication of his book The Jewish State. Herzl repeated the idea of extraterritoriality to Secretary of State Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val on January 22, 1904, but Merry del Val answered that the holy places could not be regarded as entities separate from the Holy Land. On January 25 Herzl was received by the pope, *Pius x, who told him: "We cannot prevent the Jews from going to Jerusalem but we could never sanction it. The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Jewish people. If you come to Palestine and settle your people there, we will have churches and priests ready to baptize all of you."

During World War i new realities were changing the political situation in the Middle East. The Vatican was aware at a very early stage of the secret *Sykes-Picot Agreement dividing the region between France and Great Britain and putting the central part of Palestine under an international regime. France had been for centuries the protecting power for Catholics in the Ottoman Empire, but the Holy See hinted that the Vatican would not be averse to British patronage of the Holy Places. This is what Sir Mark *Sykes heard on April 11, 1917, from Msgr. Eugenio Pacelli, undersecretary for extraordinary affairs at the Secretariat of State, and a few days later from Pope *Benedictxv himself.

Following the advice of Sykes, Nahum *Sokolow of the Zionist Executive in London met Msgr. Pacelli on April 29, 1917, and Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Gasparri on May 1, and was received by the pope on May 4, 1917. Pacelli wanted clear geographical boundaries acceptable to the Vatican to be demarcated, while Gasparri wanted the Church to have a "reserved zone" that would include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Tiberias, and Jericho. The pope said: "The problem of the holy places is of extraordinary importance for us. The sacred rights must be protected. We will settle this between the Church and the Great Powers. You must respect those rights to their full extent."

Sokolow could well understand that the Holy See had clear territorial claims on the central part of Palestine. Furthermore the Holy See would not accept a solution giving extraterritorial status to the holy places, and would in any case negotiate with the Great Powers, not with the Zionists.

Despite the content of these talks, the Zionists were impressed by the positive manner of the Church's representatives. On the basis of Sokolow's reports Dr. Chaim *Weizmann could announce to a Zionist conference in London on May 20, 1917: "We have assurances from the highest Catholic circles that they will favor the establishment of a Jewish National Home in Palestine and from their religious point of view they see no objections to it and no reason why we should not be good neighbors." Nothing could have been further from the truth. By "good neighbors" the pope probably meant that the Vatican would maintain a presence in the central area of Palestine that was to be internationalized, while the Zionists would remain outside of it in the bordering areas.

At the end of the year 1917 two events dramatically changed the situation of Palestine: the Balfour Declaration of November 2, and the conquest of Jerusalem by British troops on December 9.

Cardinal Gasparri clearly expressed opposition to a Jewish state in Palestine when he said on December 18, 1917, to the Belgian representative, Jules Van den Heuvel: "The transformation of Palestine into a Jewish state would not only endanger the Holy Places and injure the feelings of all Christians, it would also be very harmful for the country itself."

A few days later, on December 28, the pope expressed his fear to De Salis, the British representative, that Great Britain might hand Palestine over "to the Jews to the detriment of the Christian interests."

In January 1919 the Peace Conference met in Versailles (France) but the Holy See was not admitted to it. The reason was that Italy had included Article 15 in the secret London Treaty, excluding the Vatican from the future conference, since the question of Rome was still open between them. On March 10, 1919, the pope convened a secret consistory in the Vatican and said that "it would be a terrible grief for us and for all Christians if infidels [in Palestine] were placed in a privileged and prominent position; much more if those most holy sanctuaries of the Christian religion were given into the charge of non-Christians." As Gasparri explained some days later to the Belgian representative: "The danger that we most fear is the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. We would have found nothing wrong in Jews entering that country, and setting up agricultural colonies. But that they be given the rule over the Holy Places is intolerable for Christians."

Three cardinals visited Palestine in those years: the British Francis Bourne, the Italian Filippo Giustini, and the French Louis Ernest Dubois. In January 1919 Cardinal Bourne sent a letter to the British prime minister and to the foreign secretary, writing that Zionism had not received the approval of the Holy See, and if the Jews would "ever again dominate and rule the country, it would be an outrage to Christianity and its Divine founder." In October 1919 Cardinal Giustini cabled the pope from Jerusalem asking for his intervention "to prevent the reestablishment of Zionist Israel in Palestine." Cardinal Dubois was reported in March 1920 to have said that Jewish immigration to Palestine and the establishment of a Zionist state should not be permitted. On July 20, 1920, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Msgr. Luigi Barlassina, also published a pastoral letter strongly protesting against the Great Powers' decision to establish a Jewish national home in Palestine. He added: "Let Palestine be internationalized rather than someday be the servant of Zionism."

On May Day 1921, the Jewish workers in Jaffa organized a celebration and parade in the streets. The Arabs attacked them and about 50 Jews and the same number of Arabs were killed and many hundreds injured. Instead of condemning the aggressors, the Osservatore Romano (the Vatican daily) explained a few days later that the Bolsheviks had infiltrated Palestine thanks to the Zionist Organization. The paper also raised the question of whether the Bolshevik Revolution was coordinated with Zionism or whether Zionism had raised a Bolshevik viper in its bosom.

A few days later Pope Benedict xv attacked Zionism in his allocution to the cardinals of June 13, 1921. He said that the Jews were given a "position of preponderance and privilege in Palestine"; that their activity is meant "to take away the sacred character of the Holy Places"; he admitted that no damage should "be done to the rights of the Jewish element" but "they must in no way be put above the just rights of the Christians."

Pope Benedict xv died in January 1922 and a month later, a new pope was elected, assuming the name *Pius xi. Dr. Weizmann, the leader of the Zionist Organization in London, met Secretary of State Cardinal Gasparri on April 2, 1922. Gasparri did not hide his antagonism to Zionism and gave voice to a series of objections to the draft text of the Mandate over Palestine concerning religious rights, the recognition of the Jewish Agency, and Article 14 on a commission for the holy places. Weizmann learned on this occasion that the Vatican's opposition to the Mandate would take the form of an official memorandum submitted to the League of Nations.

During Weizmann's second meeting with Cardinal Gasparri on April 20, 1922, Gasparri said that Zionist colonization work caused him no anxiety, but added: "It is your university that I fear."

On May 15, 1922, Cardinal Gasparri sent an official note to try to stop, at the very last moment, the assignment of the Mandate to Great Britain. The note sent to the League of Nations stated that the Holy See cannot agree to "the Jews being given a privileged and preponderant position in Palestine vis-à-vis the Catholics" or to "the religious rights of the Christians being inadequately safeguarded." The Holy See also opposed the recognition of the Jewish Agency, and the favoring of immigration and naturalization of Jews. Nevertheless a few weeks later, on July 22, 1922, the League of Nations approved Great Britain as the mandatory power and included the Balfour Declaration in the Preamble to the Mandate. The Vatican finally accepted the British Mandate as the lesser evil.

In the 1920s the Vatican opposed Zionism for a variety of reasons. They believed the Zionists were antireligious, that Zionist immigration would sweep the Christians out of Palestine and destroy the Christian character of the country, and that the Jews were causing radical changes in the traditional life-style of the local population and damaging moral values. During this period the Vatican was strongly opposed to Jewish statehood in the Holy Land. In August 1929 the Arabs attacked the Jewish quarters in Hebron, Safed, and other places. The daily Osservatore Romano, rather than blaming the Arabs for the attack, wrote that it was "the politics of Zionism, and not the religion of Israel, which lay at the root of the trouble."

In 1936 the Arabs started the Great Arab Rebellion which resulted in many acts of violence against the Jews. The British government sent the *Peel Commission, which published its proposal for partition in 1937, and on August 6 the Vatican sent a verbal note in which it expressed its objection to the principle of partition and requested that all Holy Places be included in the British zone.

In October 1938 the Osservatore Romano wrote that "only one of the two races which contended the hegemony in Palestine can live in the country." Along the same lines of thought, Msgr. Domenico Tardini, the Vatican undersecretary of state, told a British diplomat in 1938: "There was no real reason why [the Jews] should be back in Palestine. Why should not a nice place be found for them, for instance, in South America?"

In May 1939 the British government published the MacDonald White Paper, considered to be a betrayal by Weizmann. Land regulations prohibited or restricted land sales, Jewish immigrants were limited to 75,000 during the next five years and later would be subject to Arab consent. An independent Palestinian state would be created at the end of a transition period of 10 years.

The Osservatore Romano remarked with satisfaction that "the White Paper denied the historical basis of the Zionist claims."

During World War ii, while the Holocaust was already raging and hundreds of thousands of Jews were being killed by the Nazis, anti-Zionist attitudes prevailed among Vatican diplomats.

Msgr. Domenico Tardini wrote in March 1943 that the Holy See "has never approved the project of making Palestine a Jewish home." Cardinal Maglione, secretary of state, wrote in May 1943 to his apostolic delegate in the United States, Cicognani, that it would not be difficult "if one wants to establish a 'Jewish Home,' to find other territories [than Palestine] which could better fulfill this aim, while Palestine, under Jewish predominance, would bring new and grave international problems."

Cardinal Maglione wrote in the same month that "Catholics would be wounded in their religious sentiments and would rightly fear for their rights if Palestine became the exclusive property of the Jews."

In August 1944 the secretariat of state of the Holy See wrote that they regarded Palestine "not as a Jewish home or a possible Arab home but also as a Catholic home and Catholic center."

On April 10, 1945, while the war was still going on in Europe, Moshe Shertok (later *Sharett) of the Jewish Agency was received by Pope *Pius xii. He hoped for the "moral support" of the Catholic Church for "our renewed existence in Palestine." But he did not receive any support; on the contrary the Holy See started a campaign for the internationalization of Jerusalem, supported by France. The Vatican considered Zionism to be an enemy, only suitable as a springboard for a new alliance between Christians and Moslems in Palestine.

In 1947 Great Britain decided to renounce the Mandate and to deliver the Palestine issue over to the United Nations. On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly approved Resolution No. 181 on the partition of Palestine and the creation of a corpus separatum for Jerusalem and its environs. The Holy See avoided interfering in the vote, probably in order not to jeopardize the internationalization of Jerusalem. The war that the Arab states opened against the State of Israel, and which made null and void the project of internationalization, started even before the state was proclaimed.

The Vatican and the State of Israel

The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 ran counter to certain theological ideas in the Catholic Church according to which the Jews were condemned to remain homeless because of the crime of deicide. Some believe that the Holy See did not oppose the partition plan of the United Nations in 1947 because it included Jerusalem in an international "corpus separatum." Pope Pius xii wrote three encyclicals on the question of the Holy Land. The first one, Auspicia quaedam of May 1, 1948, expressed hope "that the situation in Palestine may at long last be settled justly and thereby concord and peace be also happily established."

In the second, In multiplicibus, of October 24, 1948, the pope said that "it would be opportune to give Jerusalem and its outskirts, where are found so many and such precious memories of the life and death of the Savior, an international character which, in the present circumstances, seems to offer a better guarantee for the protection of the sanctuaries. It would also be necessary to assure, with international guarantees, both free access to Holy Places scattered throughout Palestine, and the freedom of worship and the respect of customs and religious traditions."

In his third encyclical, In redemptoris nostr, of April 15, 1949, Pope Pius xii advocated giving "to Jerusalem and its surroundings a juridical statute internationally guaranteed" and appealed that all rights of the Catholics "should be preserved inviolate."

Some Catholic states opposed the acceptance of Israel in the United Nations on May 11, 1949, because Israel had "failed to carry out the full internationalization scheme" for Jerusalem. The dispute on the war damages to churches and other properties in Israel was solved satisfactorily for the Holy See in 1955 when Msgr. Antonio Vergani received the final compensation for war damages to Catholic institutions. But even the name of the State of Israel was omitted by the Osservatore Romano in 1955 when a visit of the *Israel Philharmonic Orchestra to the Vatican was described as that of "Jewish musicians of fourteen different nationalities." The coronation of Pope *John xxiii in 1958 was attended by Ambassador Eliyahu *Sasson as a "special delegate of the State of Israel." This, it was later claimed by the Vatican, proved that the Holy See did recognize the State of Israel even if it did not establish normal diplomatic relations.

On January 5, 1964, *Paul vi became the first pope to visit Israel. He said in Megiddo, where he entered Israel: "We are coming as pilgrims, we come to venerate the Holy Places; we come to pray." He ended his speech with the Hebrew words "Shalom, shalom." But Paul vi never addressed President Shazar by his title; even when he sent a telegram with his thanks, it was sent to Tel Aviv, not to Jerusalem, the residence of the president of the State of Israel. Every effort was made to stress the non-recognition of Israel by the Holy See.

The Ecumenical Council Vatican ii approved in 1965 an important declaration, Nostra Aetate, modifying the accusation of deicide and stating: "True, authorities of the Jews… pressed for the death of Christ; still what happened in His passion cannot be blamed upon all the Jews then living nor the Jews of today." The text was influenced by politics and it was watered down because of the violent protest of the Arab states.

After the liberation of Jerusalem in 1967, Pope Paul vi, on June 26, 1967, recalled that he had done his best "to avoid at least to Jerusalem the suffering and the damages of the war" and that he was very saddened by the conditions of the Palestinian refugees, and said that "the Holy City of Jerusalem should remain for ever a town of God, a free oasis of peace and prayer, with its own statute internationally guaranteed."

Thus the old formula for seeking the internationalization of Jerusalem and its environs was changed into one that spoke of an "internationally guaranteed statute."

In July 1967 Msgr. Angelo Felici, undersecretary for extraordinary affairs at the Vatican Secretariat of State arrived in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Levi *Eshkol. The pope in his allocution of December 23, 1968, had spoken of his wish to see "an internationally guaranteed agreement on the question of Jerusalem and the Holy Places."

On October 6, 1969, the pope received the Israeli foreign minister, Abba *Eban, and discussed the question of "the refugees, the holy places, and the unique and sacred character of Jerusalem."

On December 22, 1969, the traditional Christmas wishes for the Arab refugees and the special mention of the Christian communities in Palestine expressed a new preoccupation. "They have diminished and they are diminishing, the faithful of Jesus in that blessed earth," said the Pope. This was the first time that the pope had expressed publicly his concerns about the diminishing number of Catholics in the Holy Land, a preoccupation would manifest itself time and again in his subsequent speeches.

In January 1972, Deputy Secretary of State Msgr. Giovanni Benelli visited Israel and had several talks with Minister of Finance Pinḥas *Sapir, and Minister of Justice Ya'akov Shimshon *Shapiro on the question of the sale of the Notre Dame de France building to the Hebrew University. The assumptionist had sold the monastery but according to the Vatican the sale had to be considered null and void because Canon Law required authorization by the Vatican. A hearing in an Israeli court in Jerusalem was curtailed by the Israeli government's decision to cancel the sale, but no reciprocal gesture of goodwill was made by the Holy See. The Vatican transformed the building into a modern hotel and for years refused to pay municipal taxes "for services rendered." Finally, in 1987, the Vatican consented to pay the Jerusalem municipality a token sum.

On December 22, 1972, in his customary allocution to the Holy College on the eve of Christmas, the pope criticized "situations without a clear juridical basis, internationally recognized and guaranteed," referring to Jerusalem, where also the followers of Christ "must feel themselves full 'citizens.'" He spoke also of the sons of the Palestinian people waiting for years "for an equitable recognition of their aspirations, not in opposition to but in necessary harmony with the rights of other peoples."

On January 15, 1973, Israeli Prime Minister Golda *Meir was received in a private audience by Pope Paul vi. It was the first official visit of this kind, and therefore an important one. The final communiqué recalled the suffering of the Jewish people; the pope in his humanitarian mission was interested in the Arab refugee problem and the problems of the Christian communities living in the Holy Land, while in terms of his religious mission he expressed concern about the Holy Places and the universal and holy character of Jerusalem.

At the end of the same year, after the Yom Kippur War, during which Israel was attacked by Syria and Egypt, the pope dedicated most of his yearly message of December 21, 1973, to the cardinals, to the Middle East. He expressed his approval of the Peace Conference convening on that same day in Geneva, but considered it incomplete in terms of representation, referring probably to the nonparticipation of the plo. The Holy See was ready "to offer cooperation … in agreements that would guarantee to all parties concerned a calm and secure existence and the recognition of respective rights." The pope spoke of the hundreds of thousand of Arab refugees "living in desperate conditions"; even if their cause "has been endangered by actions that are repugnant to the civil conscience of people and are in no case justified, it is a cause that demands human consideration and calls with the voice of abandoned and innocent masses for a just and generous response."

On December 9, 1974, Msgr. Hilarion Capucci, the Greek Catholic archbishop (melkite) of Jerusalem and vicar of the Patriarch Maximos, was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment; he was found guilty of smuggling arms and explosives for the Fatah organization from Lebanon into Israel, exploiting his diplomatic immunity. Some years later, on November 6, 1977, President Ephraim *Katzir, in response to a personal letter from the pope, commuted the sentence and Archbishop Capucci was immediately released. The written promise of the pope that Msgr. Capucci would not "bring any harm to the State of Israel," i.e., would no more indulge in political activity, was not respected and the prelate participated in many propaganda meetings organized by the plo after regaining his freedom.

The foreign minister of Israel, Moshe *Dayan, was received in private audience by the pope on January 12, 1978. The pope stressed again his concerns about the question of Jerusalem, stating that the "well-known solution proposed by the Holy See for Jerusalem could satisfy the unique and religious character of the city." The Israeli side stressed what had been done "to guarantee the protection of the Holy Places of all religions and free access to them."

Paul vi died on August 6, 1978. His successor was Pope John Paul i, who had been patriarch of Venice and as such had good relations with the Jews. He died suddenly on September 28, 1978.

The new pope, *John Paul ii, was born in Poland, so that for the first time in centuries the pope was not an Italian. An Israeli delegation participated in the funeral of the previous pope and the coronation ceremony of the new pope, whom it invited to visit Israel.

The permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations made a declaration on Jerusalem on December 3, 1979, in which he explained the meaning of a "special statute internationally guaranteed" for Jerusalem. The content of this statute would include two orders of guarantees: parity for the three religious communities regarding freedom of worship and access to the Holy Places; and equal enjoyment of rights by the three religious communities, with guarantees for the promotion of their spiritual, cultural, civil, and social life, including adequate opportunities for economic progress, education, and employment.

Pope John Paul ii spoke about the State of Israel on October 5, 1980, in Otranto, saying: "The Jewish people, after tragic experiences connected with the extermination of so many sons and daughters, driven by desire for security, has established the State of Israel. At the same time, the painful condition of the Palestinian people was created, as a large part of it were extirpated from their land."

Yitzhak *Shamir, Israeli minister for foreign affairs, was received on January 7, 1982, by the pope, who stressed the importance of the Palestinian question, which should find a solution "taking into account also the problem of security for the State of Israel." The pope also spoke about "a just and agreed solution for the question of Jerusalem," a center for the three religions. Shamir emphasized the concessions made by Israel in order to reach the peace agreement with Egypt and his concerns about the arms race in the area and the serious problem of terrorism.

On September 15, 1982, the pope received Yasser *Arafat, who had just been forced to abandon Beirut, giving him a political victory after a military defeat.

Pope John Paul ii dedicated an Apostolic Letter, "Redemptionis Anno," on April 20, 1984, to the question of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. The pope wrote: "Jews ardently love [Jerusalem] and in every age venerate her memory, abundant as she is in many remains and monuments from the time of David who chose her as the capital, and of Solomon who built the Temple there. Therefore they turn their minds to her daily, one may say, and point to her as the symbol of their nation."

After explaining why Jerusalem is holy also to the Christians and the Moslems, he recalled the Holy See's appeals for an adequate solution. He said: "Not only the monuments or the sacred places, but the whole historical Jerusalem and the existence of religious communities, their situation and future cannot but affect everyone and interest everyone."

Shimon *Peres, then prime minister, was received by the pope on February 19, 1985, and for almost an hour discussed the peace process. It was clear that Peres would not press for the establishment of normal diplomatic relations nor extend a formal invitation to the pope to visit Israel, leaving the initiative to the Holy See. Seemingly in the conversation with Secretary of State Casaroli there was a discussion on the status of Jerusalem and the Palestinian question.

In the "Notes," a Vatican commentary to Nostra Aetate published in 1985, there is reference for the first time to the State of Israel. In this statement issued on the 20^th anniversary of Vatican ii declaration, Christians are invited to understand the religious attachment of Jews to the State of Israel, but "the existence of the State of Israel and its political options should be envisaged not in a perspective which is itself religious, but in their reference to the common principles of international law."

This was the way to overcome the theological obstacle to the recognition of Israel.

John Paul ii was the first pope to visit a synagogue when on April 13, 1986, he went to Rome's Great Synagogue. In his speech he spoke of the Jews as "our elder brothers," a characterization that was changed in 2004 to "our dearest brothers."

In September 1987, when Jewish leaders were received in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, sources close to the pope said that there was no longer any theological obstacle to full relations with Israel. This can be seen as an outgrowth of the line adopted in June 1985 denying that there was any temporal link between the Jewish people and the State of Israel. While such a view might serve to overcome theological obstacles, at the same time it denies the spiritual basis of Zionism and seeks to separate the Jews in the Diaspora from the State of Israel.

On April 10, 1989, Renato Martino, permanent observer at the un, said: "For us the Holy Land is our homeland, our country of origin; Jerusalem is the Church hometown. The Holy See is not only interested in preserving the archaeology, artifacts and architecture of the historical Christian communities, but also those communities themselves. The lack of diplomatic relations does not imply denial of the existence of the State of Israel. That such recognition exists is clear from the constant contacts."

On January 25, 1991, during the first Gulf War, the Holy See published a long document on the issue of diplomatic relations with Israel. It stated that the lack of diplomatic relations is certainly not due to theological reasons, but to juridical ones. The three main juridical difficulties were the presence of Israel in the occupied territories, Israel's annexation of Jerusalem, and the situation of the Catholic Church in Israel and in the administered territories.

On March 6, 1991, Pope John Paul ii, closing the synod of bishops from the Middle East, said: "We have spoken of the Holy Land where two peoples, the Palestinians and that of the State of Israel, have been engaged in conflict for decades; the injustice of which the Palestinian people is a victim demands engagement by all men."

After the opening of the Madrid Peace Conference in November 1991, Msgr. Michel Sabah, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, emphasized that the Holy See had not been invited to attend, saying: "The invitation we were waiting for did not arrive." Probably the Holy See understood that without establishing normal diplomatic relations with Israel it could not be associated with the peace process, where perhaps the status of Jerusalem could be discussed. As they themselves were engaged in a dialogue with Israel, the Arabs could not very well reproach the Holy See establishing a bilateral permanent commission with Israel in July 1992 to discuss outstanding questions and normalize relations. The status of Jerusalem, a multisided question, was not discussed there.

After the meeting between Prime Minister Yitzhak *Rabin and Chairman Yasser Arafat at the White House on September 13, 1993, the Holy See decided to sign a Fundamental Agreement with Israel. It was signed by Msgr. Claudio Maria Celli and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Yossi *Beilin on December 30, 1993. Only after the Cairo Agreement between Israel and the plo, on May 4, 1994, did the Holy See agree to an exchange of ambassadors. It also signed an accord in November 1997 on the juridical status of the Church and Catholic institutions in Israel, which grants the Church autonomy to handle its affairs while respecting Israeli laws.

In a detailed exposition in a Jerusalem lecture on October 26, 1998, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for relations with states, presented the Holy See's position on Jerusalem. Tauran stated that the Holy See cannot accept any distinction between the question of the Holy Places and the question of Jerusalem. The Holy See is present "to ensure that it does not become, as is the situation today, a case of manifest international injustice. East Jerusalem is illegally occupied. It is wrong to claim that the Holy See is only interested in the religious aspect or aspects of the city and overlook the political and territorial aspect… Any unilateral solution or one brought about by force is not and cannot be a solution at all… There must be equality of rights and treatment for those belonging to the communities of the three religions found in the city… the simple 'extraterritoriality' of the Holy Places would not suffice… The Holy See believes in the importance of extending representation at the negotiating table."

On March 9, 1999, Msgr. Tauran described the main reasons of disagreement with Israel: "It must also be recognized that relations between the Holy See and the Jewish world – above all with the State of Israel – have hardly been helped by the failure to resolve the Palestinian problem, the lack of respect for certain un Security Council Resolutions and duly concluded international agreements, without forgetting the annexation by force of a part of the City of Jerusalem."

On April 27, 1999, Foreign Minister Ariel *Sharon was received by Pope John Paul ii. Sharon thanked the pope for his efforts in combating antisemitism and his relations with the Jews. "Israel will warmly welcome and ensure the security of the pilgrims who will come, including, first and foremost, the 'First pilgrim,' the Pope."

In December 1999, another item of disagreement between the Holy See and Israel was the project of building a new mosque in Nazareth just in front of the Basilica of the Annunciation.

The Catholic Church under the guidance of Msgr. Michel Sabah, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, reacted strongly to the government's authorization to build the mosque. Msgr. Sabah succeeded in closing down the Christian Holy Places in Jerusalem for two days in protest and managed to create a united front with other Christian communities. Sabah also accused the Israeli government of fomenting tension between Christians and Moslems, an accusation promptly re-echoed by the Holy See's spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls. Some years later the Israeli government withdrew the authorization and the mosque was not built.

The official visit of Pope John Paul ii to the Holy Land in March 2000 was undoubtedly an historical event. John Paul ii arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport, where he was formally received by President Ezer *Weizman and Prime Minister Ehud *Barak on March 21, 2000. He visited the two chief rabbis, Israel Meir *Lau and Eliahu *Bakshi-Doron, at Hechal Shlomo in Jerusalem, and the president of the State in his official residence in Jerusalem on March 23, 2000.

The pope said to President Weizman: "Mr. President, you are known as a man of peace and a peacemaker. We all know how urgent is the need for peace and justice, not for Israel alone but for the entire region." On the same occasion the pope added: "It is my fervent hope that a genuine desire for peace will inspire your every decision."

There were two other highlights to the pope's visit to Israel: the encounter in Yad Vashem on March 23 with Holocaust survivors from his home town and the visit to the Western Wall. The Pope said at Yad Vashem: "Only a godless ideology could plan and carry out the extermination of a whole people." Thus all the responsibility fell upon a "godless ideology," unrelated to or even in opposition to the Church. Already in March 1998, the Holy See, in the document "We Remember: a Reflection on the Shoah," had stated: "The Shoah was the work of a thoroughly modern neo-pagan regime. Its antisemitism had its roots outside of Christianity."

In a crevice of the Western Wall, following the Jewish custom, the pope inserted on March 26 a note which reads: "God of our fathers, / you chose Abraham and his descendants / to bring your Name to the Nations: / we are deeply saddened / by the behavior of those / who in the course of history / have caused these children of yours to suffer, / and asking your forgiveness / we wish to commit ourselves / to genuine brotherhood / with the people of the Covenant."

This text is identical to that included in a ceremony of forgiveness in Rome on March 12, 2000, but it lacks the preamble in which the Church asked forgiveness from the Jews. Without the preamble, the Jews are not expressly mentioned.

In his meeting with Yasser Arafat in Bethlehem, the pope offered him 14 sea shells representing the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross and explained that this was a way to symbolize the Passion of the Palestinians. So again the pope made the comparison between the suffering of the Palestinians and those endured by Jesus.

In his speeches in Israel, the pope drew a parallel between antisemitism and anti-Christianity several times. Upon his arrival in Tel Aviv he said: "Christians and Jews together must make courageous efforts to remove all forms of prejudice. We must strive always and everywhere to present the true face of the Jews and Judaism as likewise of Christians and Christianity." Two days later at Hechal Shlomo, before the two chief rabbis, he said: "We must work together to build a future in which there will be no more anti-Judaism among Christians nor anti-Christian sentiment among Jews." At Yad Vashem the pope repeated: "No more anti-Jewish feeling among Christians or anti-Christian feeling among Jews."

This convenient symmetry between Jews and Christians is not supported by history.

During his visit in Israel the pope sent a letter protesting the approval given by the Israeli authorities to the building of the Nazareth mosque. This was a rather rare and strong act of censure.

On April 1, 2002, some 200 armed Palestinians entered one of the most important shrines and holy places in Christianity, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem – marking the place where Jesus was born – and remained inside until May 12, holding hostages. The Osservatore Romano wrote on April 2, 2002: "Palestinian terrorism is only a pretext," because the true objective of Israel is "to profane with fire and iron the land of the Resurrected." Msgr. Tauran, of the Secretariat of State, said that the Holy See's position included "an unequivocal condemnation of terrorism," "disapproval of the conditions of injustice and humiliation imposed on the Palestinian people, as well as reprisals and retaliations, which only make the sense of frustration and hatred grow."

Pope John Paul ii in his Angelus message of August 11, 2002, said: "From 1967 till today, unspeakable sufferings have followed one upon another in a frightening manner: the suffering of the Palestinians, driven out of their land and forced, in recent times, into a state of permanent siege, becoming as it were the object of a collective punishment; the suffering of the Israeli population, who live in the daily terror of being targets of anonymous assailants. To this we must add the violation of a fundamental right, that of freedom of worship. In effect, because of a strict curfew, believers no longer have access to their places of worship on the day of weekly prayer."

Archbishop Renato Martino, permanent observer to the United Nations, wrote on November 2, 2002: "The Holy See renews its consistent call for internationally guaranteed provisions to ensure the freedom of religion and conscience of its inhabitants, in order to safeguard the special character of the City and of the sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims."

On November 16, the pope said: "In this context I repeat my firm condemnation also of every terrorist action committed recently in the Holy Land. I must at the same time affirm that, unfortunately, in those places the dynamism of peace seems to have stopped. The building of a wall between the Israeli people and the Palestinians is seen by many as a new obstacle on the road toward peaceful coexistence. In effect, the Holy Land needs not walls but bridges! Without reconciliation of the souls, there cannot be peace."

In autumn 2003, Msgr. Jean-Baptiste Gourion was named auxiliary bishop of the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem for the pastoral care of the Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel. The Holy See named on May 15, 2004, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa as the new custos of the Holy Land. He had studied modern Hebrew in Jerusalem at the Hebrew University and was general assistant to Msgr. Gourion. Some observers saw in both appointments a sign of good will toward Israel.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Silvan *Shalom was received by Pope John Paul ii on December 11, 2003.

In June 2004 Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, archbishop of Milan, was the first bishop ever to be received in the Knesset and delivered a speech.

Pope John Paul ii died in 2005 and was replaced by Benedict xvi, the German-born Joseph Ratzinger. The new pope began his pontificate with a visit to the Roonstrasse Synagogue in Cologne, the oldest in northern Europe, and spoke out there against "new signs of antisemitism," thus following the line of his predecessor. In 2006 he visited Auschwitz.

bibliography:

S.I. Minerbi, L'Italie et la Palestine, 1914 – 1920 (1970); idem, The Vatican and Zionism (1990); A. Kreutz, Vatican Policy on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, The Struggle for the Holy Land (1990); S. Ferrari, Vaticano e Israele dal secondo conflitto mondiale alla Guerra del Golfo (1991); G. Rulli, Lo Stato d'Israele (1998); M. Mendes, Le Vatican et Israël (1990).

[Sergio Itzhak Minerbi (2^nd ed.)]

VATICAN

The present territory of the Vatican is only a small portion of the area that was known to the ancient Romans as Vaticanum. This territory extended on the right bank of the Tiber from Monte Mario to the Janiculum and embraced mons Vaticanus, the Vatican hill, vallis Vaticana, the Vatican valley, and campus Vaticanus, the Vatican plain, the broad surface of the "Prati." This was the last of 14 administrative regions into which Augustus divided the city of Rome.

EARLY HISTORY

In antiquity, the Vatican was valued for its many brickfields, notorious on account of its bitter wine but renowned also for several buildings. There stood the Naumachia (a stadium for aquatic sports); a kind of race course to which tradition has given the name of Gaianum (after Caligula); to the south of this, the sepulcher of the Emperor Hadrian and, in the neighborhood of the present St. Peter's, the Phrygianum, a sanctuary of the goddess Cybele. On the Janiculum towards the Tiber were Nero's gardens that took their origin from Agrippina, Caligula's mother.

Necropolis. During the rebuilding of St. Peter's at the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventh century, some pagan graves were discovered. However, it would not be until the twentieth century that discoveries would lead to extensive excavations. When the Annona (the store in Vatican City) was being constructed in 1930 some tombs were discovered below the surface. The inscriptions on the tombs were from the end of the first century and into the second century. Not far away but a little towards the West, a further cemetery was reached, and in part unearthed, during the preparatory work for a new building at the beginning of the same year. This time the burial places go back as far as the start of the first century and extend into the second. Two tombs of servants of the Roman Imperial house from the time of Nero were found.

After the burial of Pius XI in 1939 work commenced on the grottos underneath st. peter's basilica. In 1940 workmen uncovered a random series of marble and stone sarcophagi, some small and plain, other large and impressively ornamented. The tombs stretched in an East-West line on the slope of the Vatican hill and at one time they must have formed, as a whole, one of ancient Rome's largest cemeteries. The older row of mausoleums had its back wall so tightly against the hill on the northern side that only the upper part of the back of the wall was visible above the ground. The somewhat later series of mausoleums, separated from the former by a narrow pathway and running parallel with it to the south, had no lateral contact with the hill and rose free from the ground on every side. The northern mausoleums were originally arranged only for funeral urns. The southern mausoleums contained hollowed cavities for sarcophagi and tombs. The excavators used the Greek alphabet to identify the mausoleums. An important mausoleum is that of the Caetennii (F) with paintings of goblets, fruits, flowers, birds and gazelles, and mythological figures; there is also the image of the Christian Gorgonia holding a flask of fresh water, indicating eternal life. Another is the mausoleum M with its mosaic decorations; a pagan tomb that was used by Christians contains an image of Jonah, a fisherman with line, and a Good Shepherd with sheep on either side. The mausoleum B is a purely Christian tomb that provides the most ancient mosaics discovered with a Christian subject, including the Christ-Helios. Finally the mausoleum of the Egyptians (Z) was erected at the end of the second century; old bones were displaced and then reverently collected in an ossarium and reburied. The mausoleums were used for 150–200 years.

The Tomb and Bones of Peter. A shrine was discovered under the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica that proved to be difficult to excavate. E. Kirschbaum describes how the excavators systematically made their way toward the area where St. Peter was believed to be buried. They broke through the walls of the Clementine chapel, which led to another wall at the time of Gregory the Great. An opening was made in this wall that revealed a white marble facade. The walls on either side were breached, which led to the Constantinian marble pavement. There was a red-colored wall (the Red Wall) that did not rest on the Constantinian pavement but went below. The Red Wall was part of a monument over a grave. A lamp and cross were discovered, which are described in the Liber Pontificalis as gifts from Constantine. The investigation continued on the rear side of the monument. After breaking through the Constantinian wall, a graffiti wall was discovered. This wall had scribble from pilgrims. Further excavation around the Red Wall revealed the "Tropaion" of Gaius, a pre-Constantinian monument. The Red Wall with two graveyards Q and P and a drainage canal were erected as a unified bloc between the already standing mausoleums R-R' and S. Five bricks were found stamped by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius about a.d.160, which gives the date of the Red Wall and the Tropaion. Human bones were found beneath the Red Wall. Pius XII was informed and he ordered testing. The bones (with no skull) were of a man between 65 and 70 years old and placed in a wooden box, and it was speculated that they might be the bones of St. Peter. The excavations ended in 1949.

A new stage began when the excavations were open to professionals in 1952. Dr. M. Guarducci deciphered the logogram PE discovered by A. Ferrua on the graffiti wall as "Peter is within"; another inscription was translated as "Christian men buried near your body." In 1956 Professor Correnti was asked to examine the bones. He discovered that the bones were of some animals and three people; there was no indication that any of the bones were of St. Peter. Correnti was asked to examine bones discovered in the courtyard and ones that were unknowingly removed in 1942 from the graffiti wall. He finished the examination of the courtyard bones in 1962; they were of four individuals. A year later he finished the examination the bones from the graffiti wall and determined that they were of one man between 60 and 70 years old. These bones were taken from the earth and wrapped in a purplish, gold-threaded cloth. Guarducci took the results of Correnti's study and developed a theory that demonstrated the likelihood that the bones were those of St. Peter. Guarducci published her report in 1965, which encountered criticism. She responded to her critics in a 1967 report. A troubling question was why the bones were removed from the grave and placed in a niche prior to the monument built by Constantine. Correspondence between Guarducci and Paul VI convinced the pope to announce in 1968 that the bones were of St. Peter. Most scholars accept that St. Peter was probably martyred within months after the fire of Rome in July of 64. In 1968 Guarducci proposed the date of Oct. 13, 64, because this is the anniversary of Nero's accession to the throne. J. E. Walsh reviewed the evidence in 1987 and became supportive of the Guarducci theory about the bones. He proposed that the bones were removed around 250 for security reasons during the persecutions of Emperor Valerian.

Constantine's Basilica. The basilica begun by Constantine c. 324 was completed by his son Constantius c. 354. It was a rectangular church whose central nave was

some 230 feet across and 40 feet long with a V-shaped wooden roof 131 feet high at its apex. Four rows of 22 columns each constituted the five aisles, the two central columns being 29 feet high. The top register of the clere-story was pierced by 11 windows, four on each side and three on the nave; and its walls were decorated with frescoes; those on the lowest level included the portraits of the popes commissioned by Liberius (352–366). The three middle sections of the clerestory contained representations of the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles on the top story, and on each side of the nave, 46 scenes from the Old and New Testaments. The two aisles were some 29 feet wide and 62 feet high, while the outside aisles were 46 feet high and 29 feet wide. A triumphal mosaic arch dominated the central nave of the church with a scene in which Constantine was representing as presenting a model of the basilica to Christ.

In the center of the transept, which was 59 feet wide, the tomb of St. Peter formed the axis of the basilica. It was a block-shaped building made of blue-veined marble, boxed in by four porphyry columns and surmounted by an inverted ciborium supported by six white spiral columns. A votive crown with 50 lamps in the form of dolphins was suspended from the center of the umbrella like

covering. The details have been preserved on the facade of an ivory box found at Samagher, near Pola, Istria.

The Paradiso. Entrance to the basilica was provided by five doors called from right to left, the Porta Guidonea, Romana, Regia, Ravegnana, and Judicii. The last received its name from the fact that it was the door through which funerals passed; the others, probably from donors. Before the entrance was a garden with fountains called the Paradiso; it contained the pine-cone-shaped fountain admired by Dante and today decorating the courtyard of the Pigna. Entrance to this garden was provided by three bronze doors in a large portico supported by 46 columns and measuring some 203 feet by 184 feet. The platform in front was used for coronations and other ceremonials and was fronted by 35 steps.

Papal Ornamentation. The magnificence of this basilica on the side of a hill facing the city of Rome not only impressed the local citizenry, but it became a center of interest, and of pilgrimages from all over the Christian world. Pope Damasus I (366–384) erected a baptistery on the north transept of the basilica, using the water drained from the tomb area by his engineers; and Pope Symmachus (498–514) surrounded this area with three small chapels dedicated to the Holy Cross, St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist.

The Emperor Valentinian I, under Pope Sixtus III (432–440), had the facade of the tomb decorated with a representation of Christ flanked by the 12 Apostles standing before the 12 gates of Jerusalem. Pope Leo I (440–461) repaired the damages caused by an earthquake in 443, and restored the facade of the basilica with a mosaic of Christ, the Virgin Mary, St. Peter, the symbols of the Four Evangelists, and the 24 elders of the Apocalypse. The expenses were evidently borne by the consul Marinianus and his wife Anastasia.

Pelagius II (579–590) erected a pulpit in the sanctuary. Pope Gregory I (590–604) raised the level of the sanctuary and built a permanent altar directly over the tomb, leaving open a small window through which the eastern face of the Constantinian monument could be seen. He dismantled the original baldachino, or pegola, used the six spiral columns to form a screen in front of the apse, and excavated behind the altar to form a semicircular crypt giving access from the back. John VII (705–707) built a richly decorated chapel of the Virgin Mary, which was demolished in 1606. Gregory III (731–741) added six spiral columns to the screen in from of the altar, and succeeding popes took pride in adorning the basilica. Stephen II (732–757) erected a bell tower and enclosed one of the fountains in the atrium with an eight-column bronze cupola, while Leo III (795–816) enlarged the baptistery. Paschal I (817–824) built a chapel in honor of SS. Processus and Martianus.

Additions by Medieval Popes. Pillaged by the Saracens in 846, the basilica was repaired by Leo IV (847–855). Callistus II (1119–1124) enclosed the Gregorian altar in a boxlike construction and erected a new altar directly above it. In 1298 Cardinal James Stefaneschi had Giotto decorate the portico with a mosaic depicting Christ walking on the waters to calm the Apostles in the boat (Mt 14.22–33). This Mosaic, called the Navicella, was preserved, and today graces the ceiling of the atrium to the basilica. The basilica was neglected during the residence of the popes at Avignon; but Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342) repaired the roof; and Pope Eugene IV (1431–1441) had Antonio Averulino (Filarete) execute the door in bronze that today stands as the central portal of the modern basilica.

Vatican Monasteries. The early residence of the popes was in the Lateran palace, and the nearby Constaninian now known as the basilica of St. John Lateran served as the cathedral for the Bishop of Rome. St. Peter's was used as a station church and for special ceremonies.

Leo I (c. 450) seems to have erected a monastery dedicated to SS. John and Paul on the north side of the Vatican for the monks who served St. Peter's. A second monastery in honor of St. Martin was added on a spot now occupied by the pilaster supporting the cupola that contains the statue of St. Veronica; a third called St. Stephen Major, or cata Galla Patricia, stood behind the apse of the modern basilica; and a fourth, founded by Stephen IV on the site of the present sacristy, served later as a hospice for Hungarian pilgrims, but was demolished in 1776. A fifth monastery for nuns seems to have existed opposite the oratory of Symmachus during the early Middle Ages; and Pope Nicholas III (1277–1280) built a home for the canons of St. Peter on the south side of the basilica where the modern residence stands.

During the reign of Symmachus I (498–514), likewise, residences for the poor were constructed on the south side of the basilica; they were rebuilt under Sergius I (687–701), Gregory II (715–731), and Leo III, and baths were installed nearby. Five diaconiae, or offices, for the deacons who cared for the poor were established. The first, in honor of SS. Sergius and Baccus, was on the north side in the Palace of Charlemagne (palatium Caroli); a second, in honor of St. Mary, stood in caput Portici, or, near the Portico of the basilica. Pope Stephen II built a hospice on the spot where the obelisk now stands in front of St. Peter's, and this housed the diaconia of St. Silvester in the 8th century. It was demolished by Pope Pius IV (1560–1565). A fourth diaconia stood near the Castel'Angelo and was first called the Hadrianum, later Santa Maria in Transpontina; it was destroyed in the 15th century. A fifth diaconia was also situated near the Portico, called St. Martino de Custina.

Scholae, or Hostels, for Pilgrims. Hostels were also founded for pilgrims from different nations. The oldest was erected by King Ine of Wessex (727–730), according to Matthew of Paris, whereas William of Malmesbury credits Offa of Mercia; it was called the schola Saxonum for the English, or Saxons. The schola Francorum with a chapel called S. Salvatore di Ferrione occupied a site on which the Holy Office now stands. The schola Frisorum for German and Flemish pilgrims stood on the present site of S. Maria in Campo Santo; while the schola Langobadorum is credited to Ansa, the wife of King Desiderius, and dates from c. 770. The chapel of SS. Michele e Magno, left of Bernini's colonnade, marks the foundation of the schola Frisorum. The Hungarian hospice was called "de Aguila" (needle) from the obelisk

that stood nearby; it was built over the old monastery of St. Stephen on the site of the present sacristy.

Leonine Wall. Pope Leo IV (847–855) built a wall around the Vatican using plans that originated with the Emperor Lothair after the sack of Rome by the Saracens in 846. Called the Leonine wall, it was two and onequarter Roman miles long and was pierced by 48 towers and three gates. Innocent III (1198–1216) built a fortified wall within the perimter of the older construction, and one of its towers, identified in 1947, was incorporated in the palace of Nicholas III (1277–1280).

Early Papal Palaces. In the 6th century Pope Symmachus I had built two small residences on either side of the basilica for brief stays connected with ceremonies or functions in St. Peter's; and Charlemagne constructed a palace (palatium Caroli ) for his subjects during his stay in Rome (c. 800). Leo III, Eugene III (1153), and Innocent III reconstructed one of the Symmachan edifices that was further fortified with a wall by Leo IV. But it was Nicholas III who began the series of constructions known today as the papal palaces. Two of his decorated buildings were incorporated into the present palace, and their remains can be seen in the Sala dei Paramenti, Sala dei Pontifici, and Cubiculo di Niccolo V on the first floor, and in the halls of Chiaroscuro and of Constantine on the second floor. He also built a rectangular chapel that underlies the present Sistine Chapel; its gardens are occupied today by the court of the Belvedere.

THE RENAISSANCE

A new era of construction and decoration was introduced with the Renaissance. Nicholas V (1447–1455) added a fortified bastion to the north and west walls of the palace of Nicholas III. He built a chapel in which Fra Angelico (Giovanni di Fiesola) painted the pictures of SS. Stephen and Lawrence. Paul II (1458–1464) constructed the stairway from the courtyard at St. Damasus to that of the Pappagallo.

The New St. Peter's. The idea to construct a new St. Peter's basilica to replace the Constantinian one was first effectively broached under Pope Nicholas V when the architect Leon Battista Alberti discovered that the south wall had a list some five feet off perpendicular and that the frescoes of the south side of the central nave were some three-and-a-half feet off alignment. Nicholas commissioned Bernardo Rossellino in 1452 to construct a new apse for the basilica, to the west of the old one, but the work stopped on the pope's death. Paul II gave the project to Julian da Sangallo in 1470, and Sixtus IV (1471–1484) ordered the construction of a new baldachino over the altar.

Bramante. According to a plan submitted by Donato Bramante the new church was to be erected in the form of a Greek cross with a square area in the center surmounted by a dome and four smaller cupolas on the four corners. Julius II laid the cornerstone on April 18, 1506. The new church was to be constructed in two stages: the apse and altar of the old basilica were preserved from immediate

demolition; eventually under Antonio da Sangallo (1534–1546) they were shut off by a wall and served as a temporary church. Bramante tore down the nave of Constantine's church and without excavating dug emplacements for the four great pilasters upholding the new cupola. After Bramante's death in 1514 Leo X gave the project to the care of Raphael, Fra Giovanni Giocondo, and Julian da Sangallo, who changed the plan from a Greek to a Latin cross, constituted by a nave of three arches to be separated by pilasters.

Michelangelo. After the sack of Rome in 1527 Antonio da Sangallo assumed full charge under Paul III (1534–1549). The latter commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti as architect in chief in 1546, and despite criticism of the changes he made in the original plans, Michelangelo was confirmed in this position by Julius II in 1552, and by Pius IV in 1561. Having almost completed the drum of the cupola before his death in 1564, Michelangelo was succeeded by Pirro Ligorio and Vignola (James Barozzi). The latter was placed in charge of the project by Gregory XIII (1572–1585), and the dome was completed under pressure from Sixtus V (1585–1590), who also had Domenico Fontana move the Egyptian obelisk from the spot near the sacristy to the center of the piazza in 1586.

Under Clement VIII (1592–1605) the old apse was pulled down and a new High Altar was constructed directly over the altar built by Callistus II. Likewise the pavement of the new basilica was laid some 15 feet above the level of the old Constantinian Church. Under Paul V (1605–1621) Carlo Maderno extended the eastern arm of the apse in such fashion as to emphasize the Latin-cross plan. Completed in 1615, the new edifice measured 613 feet in length; the facade was 377 feet in breadth and 151 feet high; the atrium was 233 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 65 feet high and decorated with Giotto's Navicella.

Giovanni Bernini. Paul V had a large area excavated in front of the main altar to constitute an open area or court with colored marble and bronze statues of Peter and Paul. It opens into the Confessio of St. Peter, which contained a window allowing objects to be lowered down to the Constantinian monument over the grave of St. Peter. After the election of Urban VIII (1623–1644), Giovanni Bernini undertook the construction of a new baldachino, or canopy, over the main altar. In gilded bronze, this canopy is 92 feet high and is held up by four pillars modeled on the original Constaninian columns were used to decorate the four loggias on the upper portions of the pilasters facing the altar, which were also decorated by Bernini. The lower sections contain four niches filled by heroicsized statues of SS. Longinus, Helena, Veronica, and Andrew the Apostle.

The marble decoration of the basilica's interior and the medallions representing the first 40 popes and 28 allegories of virtues were also the work of Bernini commissioned by Innocent X (1644–1655). Bernini designed the pavement of the basilica and the heroic statue of Constantine as well as the immense bronze cathedra at the base of the apse, which rests on the statues of the four great doctors of the Church, SS. Ambrose, Augustine, Athanasius, and John Chrysostom. Finally under Alexander VII (1655–1567) Bernini turned attention to the exterior, and between 1657 and 1663 erected the two semicircular sets of colonnades that enclasp the Piazza of St., Peter with four rows of 284 travertine columns on the balustrade, over which stand 140 heroic statutes of martyrs and confessors. In the piazza itself to the left of the obelisk he replaced the fountain of Innocent VIII; that on the right is the work of Carlo Fontana commissioned by Clement X in 1670.

Vatican Library and Archives. Independent of the construction of St. Peter's Sixtus IV renovated rooms and built other edifices. Though the idea to establish a place for a vatican library was conceived by Nicholas in 1450, it was officially established by Sixtus IV by the papal bull, Ad decorum militantis Ecclesiae in 1475. He initially renovated three rooms, and later another one, on the ground floor of the Apostolic Palace to house the collection. Julius II (1503–1513) added rooms and Sixtus V had Domenico Fontana design a new building that divided the Belvedere courtyard from the Pigna courtyard. The top floor has a magnificent hall (184 feet long and 57 feet wide) that became known as the Sistine Library. In 1587, Sixtus V (1585–1590) moved the printing worked founded by Pius IV (1559–1565) in 1561. This act began the Vatican Press.

In 1612 Paul V created a separate archives section by bringing together materials from the library of Castel Sant'Angelo, the Apostolic Camera, and other official offices. This new section began the Vatican Secret Archives, located in rooms under the tower of Gregory XIII's observatory.

Sistine Chapel. Sixtus IV (1471–1484) commissioned Giovanni dei Dolci to erect the Sistine chapel on the site of the cappella magna built in the palace of Nicholas III (1277–1280) and used by the popes as a chapel until 1477. In 1481 Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli signed a contract to paint ten biblical stories. The chapel was consecrated in 1483. Paul III (1534–1549) encouraged Michelangelo to decorate its ceiling with the magnificent story of Creation and the Last Judgment, completed between 1536 and 1541.

Other Developments. Under Julius II, Donato Bramante completed the north facade of the Belvedere palace, adding two loggias, and the extensive corridor holding the Chiaramonti galleries and Lapidaria, while Raphael supplied a third loggia. Raphael also painted the rooms of the signatura, the Heliodorus, and the loggias overlooking the courtyard of the Maresciallo.

Antonio de Sangallo built the Sala Regia for Paul III; it was decorated by Giorgio Vasari, Thaddeus Zuccaro, and the Della Portas. Sangallo also erected the Pauline chapel for the same Pope, who had it ornamented with scenes from the lives of SS. Peter and Paul by Michelangelo between 1542 and 1550. The corridor of the Belvedere was completed under Pius IV who erected the building known as the Casino of Pius IV in the Vatican Gardens. The chapels of SS. Stephen, Michael, and Peter were begun under the patronage of Pius V (1566–1672) and decorated with paintings by Vasari and stucco ornaments by James della Porta. Julius Mazzoni and Daniel della Volterra painted the chapel of the Swiss guards.

The famous Gallery of the Maps, containing the topography of the regions of Italy in the Dominican Ignatius Danti's designs, stems from the reign of Gregory XIII (1572–1585), who likewise commissioned the wing enclosing the courtyard of St. Damasus and the Tower of the Winds. Sixtus V (1585–1590) erected the present papal residence on the extreme eastern end of the court of Damasus, using Domenico Fontana as architect. He likewise cut the Belvedere courtyard in two with a new wing for the Vatican Library. Giovanni and Cherubino Alberti painted the Clementine hall under Clement VIII (1592–1605); and Paul Bril decorated the hall of Consistories. The new entrance to the papal palace with it s famous bronze doors was designed by Martin Ferrabosco and James Vasanzio.

The chapel of Countess Matilda decorated by Peter of Cortona was executed under Urban VIII (1623–1644); Alexander VII (1655–1667) had the Sala Regia united with the Sala Ducale; and Clement XII (1730–1740) added another wing to the Vatican Library. Benedict XIV (1740–1758) joined the Museum of Christian Antiquity, called the Museo Sacro, to the library, and Clement XIII built the Gallery of the Candelabra.

MODERN

The Nineteenth Century and the Vatican Museums. The modern Pio-Clementine Museum, on north side of Vatican City, consists of the Porch of the Four Doors, the Simonetti Staircase, Hall of the Greek Cross, Rotunda, Hall of the Muses, Hall of the Animals, Octagonal Courtyard, Cabinet of the Masks, and Room of the Busts, and is due to popes Clement XIV (1769–1774) and Pius VI (1775–1799). Pius VII (1800–1823) commissioned the Chiaramonti Museum, and Gregory XIV (1823–1846) erected the Egyptian, Estruscan, and Gregorian Museums on the north side of the court of the Pigna. Pius IX (1846–1878) constructed the staircase leading to the Court of St. Damasus from the bronze doors of the papal palace on the right side of the Piazza of St. Peter's; he also built the Hall of the Immaculate Conception. Leo XIII (1878–1903) built the Gallery of the Chandeliers, and erected the Vatican Observatory on a height over-looking the Vatican Gardens. Leo XIII decreed in 1881 that the archives be open to researchers. Records are made available from the beginning until a pontificate has been catalogued. This will soon include the reign of Pius XI. Accessibility is also governed by standard archival norms.

The Twentieth Century. Pius X (1903–1914) made a passage from the corridor of Bramante to the gardens and a stairway from the Holy Office to the Viale del Belvedere. Pius XI (1922–1939) modernized the Vatican Library in 1928 by installing an elevator, electricity, and some temperature controls. More shelves were added by renovating the stables that were no longer needed with the advent of the automobile. A new entrance was constructed that opened into the Belvedere courtyard. After signing the Lateran Treaty (1929) he remodeled the papal summer palace at Castelgondolfo and moved the papal Observatory there. Giuseppe Momo, a friend of Pius XI, designed the Ethiopian College, the Palazzo del Governatorato (built in 1930), and the railway station (inaugurated in 1933). Between the Palazzo and the back of St. Peter's Basilica is the Vatican Gardens; there is a large flower arrangement of the coat of arms of the reigning pope. Pius XI also erected a post office (stamps have been issued by the Vatican since 1852); he constructed the buildings housing the tribunals, Annona store, and L'Osservatore Romano (the Vatican newspaper). Vatican Radio was established in 1931 with the assistance of Guglielmo Marconi; broadcasts are given in 34 languages. A new entrance to the Vatican Museums was completed in 1932.

Pius XII (1939–1958) restored the offices of the Secretariat of State and founded a television station together with a more powerful radio station near Santa Maria di Galleria in 1957. He authorized the excavation under St. Peter's, which led to the project for a resystematization of the sacred grottos underneath the present pavement of the basilica.

In 1960, during the reign of John XXIII (1958–1963), the entire territory of the Vatican was inscribed in the International Register of Cultural Works under Special Protection in case of Armed Conflict by the United Nations. The commencement of the Second Vatican Council involved intensive preparations, especially the installation of tiers of benches for the bishops on both sides of the main aisle of St. Peter's basilica and other provisions. John XXIII also renovated the tower containing the radio station and built a papal retreat in as second tower of the ancient Leonine wall on the north side of the gardens. John XXIII was the first pope to use the Vatican railway station for a pilgrimage to Assisi in 1962, a week before the Vatican Council began.

Paul VI (1963–1978) built the Museum of Modern Religious Art. He also constructed a modern audience hall that was completed in 1971 and holds over 9,000 people.

One of the first additions by John Paul II (1978–) was the Mater Ecclesiae mosaic on the exterior wall of the Apostolic Palace in 1981 that commemorated his survival from an assassination attempt in St. Peter's square. An extensive project was undertaken in the 1980s and completed in 1994 to clean the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. John Paul II had a hospice built in 1989 at the request of mother theresa of Calcutta. The hospice, which houses over 70 women and provides evening meals to hundreds, is managed by the missionaries of charity. Some improvements were made in the Vatican in preparation for the Jubilee Year 2000, including renovations to the entrance of the Vatican museums in 1999 and cleaning the facade of the basilica of St. Peter's.

Bibliography: m. guarducci, "La Data del Martirio di San Pietro," La Parola del Passato 23 (1968) 81–117; Le Chiavi sulla Pietra (Rome 1995). j. m. packard, Peter's Kingdom: Inside the Papal City (New York 1985). a. m. stickler, The Vatican Library: Its History and Treasures (Vatican City 1989). j. e. walsh, The Bones of St. Peter (Manila 1987). n. suffi, St. Peter's (Vatican City 1998).

[f. x. murphy/

c. kosanke]

Vatican

1 Location and Size

2 Topography

3 Climate

4 Plants and Animals

5 Environment

6 Population

7 Migration

8 Ethnic Groups

9 Languages

10 Religions

11 Transportation

12 History

13 Government

14 Political Parties

15 Judicial System

16 Armed Forces

17 Economy

18 Income

19 Industry

20 Labor

21 Agriculture

22 Domesticated Animals

23 Fishing

24 Forestry

25 Mining

26 Foreign Trade

27 Energy and Power

28 Social Development

29 Health

30 Housing

31 Education

32 Media

33 Tourism and Recreation

34 Famous Popes

35 Bibliography

The Holy See (State of the Vatican City)

Santa Sede (Stato della Cittá del Vaticano)

CAPITAL: Vatican City

FLAG: The flag consists of two vertical stripes, yellow at the hoist and white at the fly. On the white field, in yellow, are the crossed keys of St. Peter, the first pope, surmounted by the papal tiara (triple crown).

ANTHEM: Pontifical March (no words).

MONETARY UNIT: In 1930, after a lapse of 60 years, the Vatican resumed issuance of its own coinage—the lira (l)—but it agreed to issue no more than 300 million lire in any year. There are coins of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 lire. Both Italy and the Vatican adopted the euro as official currency in 2002. The euro is divided into 100 cents. There are coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents and 1 euro and 2 euros. There are notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 euros. The Vatican lira is fixed at 1,936.17 lire per euro. €1 = $1.25475 (or $1 = €0.79697) as of 2005.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is in use.

HOLIDAYS: Roman Catholic religious holidays; the coronation day of the reigning pope; days when public consistory is held.

TIME: 1 pm = noon GMT.

1 Location and Size

Located within the Italian city of Rome, Vatican City is the smallest state in Europe and in the world. It is a roughly triangular area of 0.44 square kilometers (0.17 square miles), lying near the west bank of the Tiber River and to the west of the Castel Sant’Angelo. The Vatican area contains the following: Saint Peter’s Square; Saint Peter’s Basilica, the largest Christian church in the world, to which the square serves as an entrance; an area consisting of administrative buildings and Belvedere Park; the pontifical palaces; and the Vatican Gardens, which occupy about half the acreage. The state is surrounded by the Leonine Wall. The total boundary length is 3.2 kilometers (2 miles).

A number of churches and palaces outside Vatican City itself—including the Lateran Basilica and Palace in the Piazza San Giovanni—are under the jurisdiction of Vatican City, as are the papal villa and its environs at Castel Gandolfo, about 24 kilometers (15 miles) southeast of Rome, and an area at Santa Maria di Galeria, where a Vatican radio station was established in 1957.

GEOGRAPHICAL PROFILE

Geographic Features

Area: 0.44 sq km (0.17 sq mi)

Size ranking: 194 of 194

Highest elevation: 75 meters (246 feet) at an unnamed location

Lowest elevation: 19 meters (62 feet) at an unnamed location

Land Use*

Arable land: 0%

Permanent crops: 0%

Other: 100%

Weather**

Average annual precipitation: 90 centimeters (35.4 inches)

Average temperature in January: 7°c (45°f)

Average temperature in July: 24°c (75°f)

* Arable Land: Land used for temporary crops, like meadows for mowing or pasture, gardens, and greenhouses.

Permanent crops: Land cultivated with crops that occupy its use for long periods, such as cocoa, coffee, rubber, fruit and nut orchards, and vineyards.

Other: Any land not specified, including built-on areas, roads, and barren land.

** The measurements for precipitation and average temperatures were taken at weather stations closest to the country’s largest city.

Precipitation and average temperature can vary significantly within a country, due to factors such as latitude, altitude, coastal proximity, and wind patterns.

2 Topography

Vatican City is situated on a slight hill not far from the Tiber River. The highest point is an unnamed location that rises to 75 meters (246 feet). The lowest point is also unnamed, reaching an altitude of 19 meters (62 feet).

3 Climate

Winters are mild, and although summer temperatures are high during the day, the evenings are cold. Temperatures in January average 7°c (45°f); in July, 24°c (75°f). There is little rain from May to September; October and November are the wettest months.

4 Plants and Animals

The gardens are famous for their fine collection of orchids and other exotic plants. Vatican City, being urban, does not have distinctive native animals.

5 Environment

Vatican City is an entirely urban environment without forested or agricultural regions. Since it has no heavy industry, the city itself produces very little pollution; however, it is affected by the industrial pollution generated by surrounding Rome. There are no endangered species.

6 Population

In 2005, the resident population was an estimated 798. The projected population for 2025 is 1,000. As of 2001, there were 532 persons with official Vatican citizenship, including the pope, cardinals resident in Rome, other clergy and lay ministry members, diplomats of the Vatican, and Swiss Guards.

7 Migration

As of 2001, there were 269 legal residents of the Vatican. These people were permitted to keep the citizenship of their country of origin.

8 Ethnic Groups

Although the citizenry of the Vatican includes cardinals and other clergymen from all parts of the world, most of the inhabitants are Italian. The members of the Swiss Guard are a notable exception. Pope Benedict XVI is German.

9 Languages

Although Italian is the official language of Vatican City, Latin is the language of the Holy See (the seat of the pope’s jurisdiction as spiritual leader). It is employed for most papal encyclicals (letters) and other formal pronouncements. As the ordinary working language, however, Italian is in greater use.

10 Religions

Vatican City is the center of the worldwide organization of the Roman Catholic Church and the seat of the pope. Roman Catholicism is the official religion and the primary business of the state itself.

11 Transportation

Vatican City is easily reached by the public transportation system of Rome. It has its own railroad station, 862 meters (2,828 feet) of railroad track and a helicopter landing pad.

12 History

Since the time of Saint Peter, regarded by the Catholic Church as the first pope, Rome has been the seat of the popes, except in periods of great turbulence when they were forced to take refuge elsewhere, most notably in Avignon, France, from 1309 to 1377.

The State of the Vatican City and the places over which the Vatican now exercises jurisdiction are the sole remnants of the States of the Church, or Papal States. At various times, beginning in 755, these states included large areas in Italy and, until the French Revolution, even parts of southern France. Most of the papal domain was annexed by King Victor Emmanuel II in 1860 in the course of the unification of Italy. By 1870, Pope Pius IX, supported by a garrison of French troops, retained rule over only the besieged city of Rome and a small territory surrounding it.

When the French troops withdrew to take part in the Franco-Prussian War, Italian forces attacked the walls of Rome on 20 September, and the city fell. On 2 October, following a referendum, the city was annexed to the kingdom of Italy and made the national capital.

In May 1871, the Italian government passed a Law of Guarantees, which attempted to define the relationship between the Italian kingdom and the papacy (pope’s rule). The enactment declared the safety of the pope and guaranteed him full liberty in his religious functions and in the conduct of diplomatic relations. It also awarded the Vatican an annual indemnity (payment to compensate for the income lost when the Papal States were annexed), and provided the pope with the right of jurisdiction over the Vatican and the papal palaces.

Pope Pius IX refused to accept the law or the money allowance; he and his successors chose to become “prisoners of the Vatican.” Until 1919, Roman Catholics were prohibited by the papacy from participating in the Italian government.

The so-called Roman Question was brought to an end by the conclusion on 11 February 1929 of three treaties between the Vatican and Italy. One treaty recognized the full sovereignty of the Vatican and established its territorial extent. Another treaty established the Roman Catholic Church as the state church of Italy. The remaining treaty awarded the Vatican financial reparations to settle all financial claims against Italy for annexing the Papal States.

From 1962 to 1965, the Vatican was the site of the Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, the first worldwide ecumenical council (gathering of the world’s bishops) in almost a century. Convened by Pope John XXIII and continued under Paul VI, the Council resulted in modernization of the Church’s role in spiritual and social matters.

On 13 May 1981, Pope John Paul II was wounded in Vatican Square by a Turkish gunman, who was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison. The alleged accomplices, three Bulgarians and three Turks,

were acquitted of conspiracy in the assassination attempt on 29 March 1986 because of lack of evidence. The treaties of 1929 were superseded in 1984 by a new agreement, under which the pope retains temporal authority over Vatican City but Roman Catholicism is no longer Italy’s state religion.

In December 1993, the Vatican and the Israeli government concluded a mutual recognition agreement. In October 1994, the Vatican established diplomatic ties with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to balance its ties with Israel. The pope traveled to Israel in 2000, where he visited different Holocaust memorials. He also visited Bethlehem to affirm the Vatican’s support for an independent Palestinian homeland.

Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Pope John Paul II urged harmony between Christians and Muslims. He also reasserted his firm belief in peace over the use of force during the 2002–03 diplomatic and military crisis in Iraq. John Paul II had made himself available as a mediator between Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and British Prime Minister Tony Blair prior to the outbreak of hostilities on 19 March 2003, but his criticism of the conflict did not prevent war.

The Vatican announced in December 2002 that it would give scholars access to its archives documenting its interactions with Nazi

BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE

Name: Pope Benedict XVI

Position: Pope of a monarchical-sacerdotal state

Took Office: April 2005

Birthplace: Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany

Birthdate: 16 April 1927

Religion: Roman Catholic

Education: Studied philosophy and theology at the University of Munich and the Higher School of Philosophy and Theology of Freising. He was ordained as a priest on 29 June 1951.

Of interest: He is the oldest man to become pope in over 100 years and the first German pope since the 11th century.

Germany from 1922 to 1939. The Catholic Church has been criticized for not having done enough to stop the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust.

Following the rise of child-abuse sex scandals in the United States involving pedophile priests, John Paul II called for an emergency meeting with U.S. cardinals in April 2002. U.S. bishops had approved a “zero tolerance” policy on priests accused of sexual abuse. That policy would have suspended priests immediately following an accusation of abuse, but the Vatican amended it, demanding certain protections for the rights of priests.

In May 2003, the Vatican officially confirmed the widespread speculation that the pope suffered from Parkinson’s disease, as well as severe arthritis. despite his illness, John Paul II continued to travel extensively until his death on 2 April 2005.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a close confidant of John Paul II, was installed as the new pope on 24 April 2005, taking the name Pope Benedict XVI. As a cardinal, Ratzinger was known as a hard-line advocate of Vatican Orthodoxy. In the early months of his papacy, Pope Benedict XVI supported the conservative stance of his predecessor.

13 Government

The pope is simultaneously the absolute sovereign of the State of the Vatican City and the head of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world. Since 1984, the pope has been represented by the cardinal secretary of state in the civil governance of Vatican City. In administering the government of the Vatican, the pope is assisted by the Pontifical Commission for the State of the Vatican City. Religious affairs are governed under the pope’s direction by a number of ecclesiastical (religious) bodies known collectively as the Roman Curia. Much of the work of the Roman Curia is conducted by offices called sacred congregations, each headed by a cardinal appointed for a five-year period.

Under the Pontifical Commission are the following groups: a central council (heading various administrative offices); the directorships of museums, technical services, economic services (including the postal and telegraph systems), and medical services; the guard; the Vatican radio system and television center; the Vatican observatory; and the directorship of the villa at Castel Gandolfo, the traditional summer residence of popes.

A pope serves from his election until his death. After his death, the College of Cardinals meets to choose a successor from among themselves. The usual method is to vote on the succession; in this case, the cardinal who receives two-thirds plus one of the votes of those present is declared to have been elected.

14 Political Parties

There are no political parties in the Vatican.

15 Judicial System

A tribunal rules on ordinary legal matters occurring within Vatican territory. Criminal cases are tried in Italian courts. There are three tribunals at the Vatican to hear religious cases. The Apostolic Penitentiary determines questions of penance and absolution from sin. The Roman Rota deals principally with marital issues, but it also may handle appeals of any decisions rendered by the lower ecclesiastical courts. In exceptional cases, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature hears appeals from the Rota.

16 Armed Forces

The papal patrol force consists only of the Swiss Guard, who patrol their posts in picturesque striped uniforms supposedly designed by the artist Michelangelo (1475–1564). The force was founded in 1506 and is recruited from several Roman Catholic cantons of Switzerland. It numbers approximately 100 members. There also is a civilian security force, which protects Vatican personnel and property and the art treasures owned by the Church.

17 Economy

The Vatican, being basically an administrative center, is dependent for its support on receiving charitable contributions, annual contributions (known as Peter’s Pence) from dioceses around the world, and interest on investments. Funds also are raised from the sale of stamps, religious literature, and mementos, as well as from museum admissions.

18 Income

Government revenue in 2001 was estimated at $173.5 million.

19 Industry

A studio in the Vatican produces mosaic work and a sewing establishment produces uniforms. There also is a large printing plant, the Vatican Polyglot Press, which produces coins, medals, and postage stamps.

20 Labor

The labor force consists mainly of priests, who serve as consultants and counselors; about 3,000 laborers, who live outside the Vatican; the guards; the nuns, who do administrative work as well as the cooking, cleaning, laundering, and tapestry repair; and the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and other higher dignitaries. Some ecclesiastical (church) officials live outside Vatican City and commute from the secular (nonreligious) city. The Association of Vatican Lay Workers, a trade union, has 1,800 members. Lay employees have always been required to be Roman Catholic and to swear loyalty to the pope.

21 Agriculture

There is no agriculture in the Vatican.

22 Domesticated Animals

There is no major livestock industry in Vatican City.

23 Fishing

There is no significant commercial fishing in the Vatican.

24 Forestry

There is no forestry industry in the Vatican.

25 Mining

There is no mining in the Vatican.

26 Foreign Trade

The Vatican does not trade with other countries.

27 Energy and Power

Electric power is supplied by Italy, but the Vatican has a generating plant with a capacity of approximately 5,000 kilowatts.

28 Social Development

Celibacy (abstention from sexual intercourse) is required of all Roman Catholic clergy, except permanent deacons. The Church upholds the concept of family planning through traditional methods, such as abstinence, but resolutely opposes such “artificial methods” as contraceptive pills and devices, as well as abortion and sterilization. Five important papal encyclicals (letters)—Rerum Novarum (1870), Quadragesimo Anno (1931), Mater et Magistra (1961), Pacem in Terris (1963), and Laborem Exercens (1981)—have enunciated the Church position on matters of workers’ rights and social and social and international justice.

29 Health

The health services directorate, under the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State, is responsible for health matters.

30 Housing

A small portion of the Vatican Palace (about 200 of the 1,000 rooms) serves as the residence for the pope, the secretary of state, high court officials, and other administrative officials. Quarters for the Swiss Guard and the gendarmes are also located within the palace. Some officials and visitors find housing in Italy outside of the Vatican borders.

31 Education

The Vatican is a major center for higher Roman Catholic education, especially of the clergy being trained for important positions. Adult literacy is 100%. About 65 papal educational institutions are scattered throughout Rome; some of the more important are the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, the Pontifical Institute of Oriental Studies, the Pontifical Lateran Athenaeum, the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology, and the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music.

32 Media

The state maintains its own telegraph and postal facilities and has a 2,000-line automatic telephone exchange tied into the Italian system. Radio Vatican, founded in 1931, comprises two facilities, one in Vatican City proper and the other outside Rome at Santa Maria di Galeria. There are three AM and four FM stations; in addition, shortwave broadcasts can reach the entire world. Programs in 34 languages are broadcast regularly. There is also one television station. The Vatican Television Center, founded in 1983, produces and distributes religious programs.

Vatican City is an important center for publishing. A widely read, semiofficial newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, is published daily, with an estimated 2002 circulation of 70,000. Since 1934, the Vatican has also published L’Osservatore della Domenica, an illustrated weekly. The Acta Apostolicae Sedis (Record of the Apostolic See) appears regularly on a monthly basis and occasionally at other times; it publishes papal encyclicals and other official papers. An annual publication, the Annuario Pontificio, is issued as a record of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

The International Religious Press Service (Agenzia Internazionale Fides—AIF) distributes news of missionary activity and publishes Information (a weekly, in various languages including English), Documentation (irregular publication schedule), and Photographic Service (weekly).

In the mid-1990s, nearly 50 periodicals were published, with a total circulation of almost 60,000. The book publishers for the Vatican are the Vatican Editions (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), the Vatican Apostolic Library (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), and the Vatican Polyglot Press (Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana).

33 Tourism and Recreation

The Vatican is regularly visited by tourists in Rome, as well as by pilgrims attracted by the jubilees (festivals) proclaimed by the pope every 25 years and by other special occasions. While there are no public accommodations in the Vatican, special inexpensive facilities are often arranged in Rome for pilgrims. Ordinarily, no passport or identification is needed for admission to the public parts of the Vatican.

34 Famous Popes

Among those who greatly increased the secular power of the papacy were Saint Gregory I (the Great, 540?–604), pope from 590 to 604, who also was influential in matters of doctrine, liturgy (the prayer service), and missionary work. Saint Gregory VII (Hildebrand, 1020?–1085), pope from 1073 to 1085, engaged in a conflict with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, who was forced to do public penance at the village of Canossa.

The most significant 19th-century pope was Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, 1792–1878), pope from 1846 to 1878, who lost the Papal States to the kingdom of Italy and convened the First Vatican Council (1869–70), which established the doctrine of papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The first popes who reigned following the establishment of the Vatican City state in 1929 were Pius XI (Achille Damiano Ratti, 1857–1939), from 1922 to 1939, and Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli, 1876–1958), from 1939 to 1958.

John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, 1881–1963), pope from 1958 to 1963, made history by convening the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), by altering the text of the canon of the mass for the first time since the seventh century, and by strongly defining the position of the Church on problems of labor and social progress (in his encyclical Mater et Magistra of June 1961). His greatest achievement was generally considered to be his eighth encyclical (papal letter), Pacem in Terris (issued on 10 April 1963), a profound plea for peace, in which he hailed the United Nations as a defender of human rights.

John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla, 1920–2005), was elevated to the papacy on 16 October 1978. This former archbishop of Cracow was not only the first Polish pope but also the first non-Italian pope since the Renaissance. Benedict XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger, b. Germany, 1927– ) was elected as pope in 2005.

35 Bibliography

BOOKS

Feldman, Christian. Pope John XXIII: A Spiritual Biography. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2000.

Hutchinson, Robert J. When in Rome: A Journal of Life in Vatican City. New York: Doubleday, 1998.

McDowell, Bart. Inside the Vatican. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1991.

Reese, Thomas J. Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.

Wynn, Wilton. Keepers of the Keys. New York: Random House, 1988.

WEB SITES

Country Pages. www.state.gov/p/eur/ci/vt/. (accessed on January 15, 2007).

Government Home Page. www.vatican.va. (accessed on January 15, 2007).

World Heritage List. whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/va. (accessed on January 15, 2007).

Vatican, The

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The term Vatican, like the word Washington, has multiple meanings. Geographically, it is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, located west of the Tiber River. Politically, it is an independent state within the city of Rome. Ecclesiologically, it is the bureaucracy that serves the pope in governing the Catholic Church.

With the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, the people of Italy turned to the Church for leadership when Constantinople was unable to defend them against the barbarian invasions. Even before the Papal States formally existed, popes were raising armies, maintaining public order, and providing government services. By 590, Gregory the Great was the de facto ruler of Italy. With Lombards attacking from the north and a weak and unsympathetic imperial government in the south, Pope Zacharias backed Pepin as king of the Franks. In exchange, Pepin defended Rome and presented the pope with the Papal States in 773. His son, Charlemagne, was crowned in Rome by Pope Leo III in 800, establishing the Church as a major source of political legitimacy in Europe.

For the next 1,100 years, through diplomacy and war, the popes fought to preserve or expand the Papal States, which they saw as the only way to maintain the political and financial independence of the Church in a precapitalistic agrarian society. The power and wealth of the Papal States, however, corrupted the papacy as much as it protected it. The loss of the Papal States in 1870 proved to be an unanticipated blessing for the Church because it freed the papacy to pursue its spiritual goals without having to worry about governing 16,000 square miles of Italy. The normalization of relations between the Vatican and Italy in 1929 left the pope with 108.7 acres.

Under international law, the Vatican is a sovereign state headed by the pope, who has supreme legislative, executive, and judicial authority. It has its own army (Swiss Guard), flag, passports, stamps, post office, Internet domain extension (.va, as in vatican.va.), and the right to mint a limited number of coins. Criminals are normally turned over to Italy for prosecution and punishment. Citizenship is given on a temporary basis to about 500 people working for the Vatican, about half of whom are members of the Vatican diplomatic service. Another 100 are members of the Swiss Guard. The governance of Vatican City is delegated to the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican State (five cardinals), which is headed by a cardinal president appointed by the pope. Under the president, a lay delegate acts as a city manager and runs the day-to-day affairs of Vatican City, which employs about 1,300 people for administration, maintenance, police, stores, and its world-class museums. The Vatican City budget is normally in the black even though it has no taxes because of income from the museums, post office, supermarket, gasoline station, and other stores.

Located in the Vatican is the Instituto per le Opere di Religione, commonly known as the IOR or Vatican Bank, founded in 1887 after the fall of the Papal States as a way of keeping Vatican finances independent of Italian control. Its depositors are now limited to the Vatican agencies, Vatican employees, dioceses, religious orders, and other Church entities. Although in the past some depositors used it to launder money, since 1993 the bank has cooperated with police investigations. Like any bank, it invests its deposits; the profits are used at the discretion of the pope. Its involvement in one investment scandal caused it to pay $244 million to Banco Ambrosiano creditors. This scandal led to the reform of the bank, which is now governed by a committee of cardinals whose principal function is to select a supervisory council of financial experts from around the world to supervise the bank and hire its lay director-general. No financial report is made public.

The Vatican Curia is the bureaucracy that helps the pope in his ministry as head of the Catholic Church (he has a separate bureaucracy for the diocese of Rome). The oldest bureaucracy in the world, it is shaped more by history than organizational theory and still has many of the trappings of a medieval court. It has about 2,500 employees. The professional staff (mostly priests) is recruited from all over the world, but the support staff is mostly Italian. It is financed by donations and income from investments. The official language is Latin, but the working language is Italian. Most offices have people who can communicate in the other major European languages.

The top official under the pope is the secretary of state, who is more like a prime minister than a U.S. secretary of state. The secretary of state has two offices: the First Section for General Affairs, headed by the sostituto (substitute), and the Second Section for Relations with States, headed by the secretary for relations with states. Although there are numerous exceptions, the principal work of the First Section is internal Church affairs, while the Second Section deals with international issues. Both sections are relatively small; for example, the Second Section has only about forty people.

The First Section is divided into language desks, with the sostituto acting as the pope’s chief of staff. Practically all paper going to and from the pope goes through this office, making the sostituto one of the most powerful men in the Vatican, although he is not a cardinal.

The Second Section, divided into country desks, is the Vatican’s foreign ministry, with the secretary acting as the foreign minister. Practically every nation in the world sends an ambassador to the Holy See (the major exception is China). The Vatican stresses (and legal scholars agree) that diplomatic relations are with the Holy See and that the pope would have the right to them under international law even if the State of Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano ) ceased to exist. Vatican foreign policy has supported international cooperation through the United Nations, the peaceful resolution of international disputes, human rights, disarmament, and aid to refugees and poor countries, while opposing international financing of abortion. But its principal concern is the promotion of religious freedom and the good of the Church. Historically it has attempted to protect the rights of local churches through international treaties (concordats) with countries.

Other dicasteries (offices) of the curia are organized as congregations or councils. They are committees of prelates (some working in Rome, others heading dioceses around the world), which meet under the leadership of a prefect (for congregations) or president (for councils). The prefects and presidents also head the staffs of their congregations and councils, which do the day-to-day work of the curia. The older congregations tend to deal with internal Church affairs: doctrine, liturgy, Eastern (non-Latin) Catholic churches, canonization of saints, appointment of bishops, evangelization, clergy, members of religious orders, and Catholic education. The newer councils are a mixed bag of offices dealing with issues that have concerned the Church since Vatican II: laity, ecumenism, family, justice and peace, health-care workers, canon law, communications, culture, and interreligious dialogue. Most staffs are quite small. They relate to Catholic dioceses around the world either directly or through the Vatican diplomatic representatives (nuncios) in each country.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Inquisition) is the most powerful office. It must review and approve the doctrinal content of documents from other offices before publication. It also attempts to control the teaching and writing done by Catholic theologians around the world. The congregations for bishops and evangelization of peoples propose names to the pope for episcopal appointments around the world, in a process that screens for orthodoxy and loyalty to the pope.

From at least the time of Constantine, the papacy has been an instrument of political legitimacy in Europe. This has given the Church political power, which it often used for good—to mediate disputes, insist on the observance of law, and protect the powerless—but sometimes used for evil—to suppress heresy and enrich itself. This power and wealth, however, made it a target of political intervention, whether imperial, feudal, or totalitarian. Beginning with Leo XIII in the nineteenth century, the Church began developing a social teaching that was more appropriate for a pluralistic democratic world. The contemporary political role of the papacy was epitomized in John Paul II (1920–2005), who through his support of Solidarity and the Polish freedom movement began the landslide that wiped out communism in Eastern Europe and ultimately the Soviet Union. He was also an outspoken defender of religious freedom, human rights, refugees, migrants, the environment, and the unborn. He spoke of the responsibility of the rich to help the poor and advocated forgiveness of Third World debt. He opposed both Persian Gulf wars. He was critical of unbridled capitalism and a culture of individualism, greed, and consumerism. Although lacking the political skills of John Paul, Benedict XVI (b. 1927) has not strayed far from his foreign policy positions.

Papal opposition to birth control and abortion have been controversial. While most Catholic moral theologians oppose abortion, a number consider making it illegal a debatable issue. John Paul did not shrink from giving Communion to pro-choice Italian politicians, although this became an issue for a few U.S. bishops in 2004. Most theologians, priests, laypeople, and even some bishops do not accept the pope’s teaching on birth control, with the result that many Catholic countries such as Italy and Spain now have falling birthrates. Also controversial both inside and outside the Church has been the questioning of condoms as a means of fighting AIDS. This dissent on Church teaching led the Vatican to investigate, reprimand, and silence many priest theologians. It also led to the appointment of bishops known for their loyalty and support for Church teaching. But with the exception of abortion, birth control, and condoms, the Vatican’s position of international issues has been far to the left of most American politicians.

SEE ALSO Politics; Religion; Roman Catholic Church

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beal, John P., James A. Coriden, and Thomas J. Green, eds. 2000. New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law. New York: Paulist Press.

Graham, Robert. 1959. Vatican Diplomacy: A Study of Church and State on the International Plane. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

John Paul II. June 28, 1988. Pastor Bonus. Vatican City: Apostolic Constitution. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_19880628_pastor-bonus-index_en.html.

Reese, Thomas J. 1996. Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Thomas J. Reese S.J.