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.