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Holy See |
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Last reviewed: 24 October 2007 |
Country information
Area: 0.44 sq km (109 acres)
Population: 890
Capital City: Vatican City
Language(s): Business is conducted in Latin, Italian, English and French.
Religion: Catholic
Government: Ecclesiastical. The Pope exercises supreme legislative, executive and judicial power. The Government of the Vatican City State is known as the Holy See. The bureaucratic and administrative work of the Holy See is performed by the Roman Curia, which consists of the Papal Secretariat of State (the Cabinet Office equivalent), nine Congregations (or Ministries), nine Councils, three Tribunals and a complex of Offices and Commissions. The Roman Curia (Civil Service), is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State.
Head of State: Pope Benedict XVI (formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger), elected 19 April 2005.
Prime Minister/Premier: Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (since 15 September 2006)
Foreign Minister: Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States in the Papal Secretariat of State (since 15 September 2006).
Membership of international groupings/organisations: The Holy See has Observer Status in a large number of intergovernmental organisations or bodies, such as the UN, the Council of Europe, OAS and WTO. It is also a full member of the OSCE , UNHCR and the IAEA, among others.
DID YOU KNOW?
- The Vatican has its own typography - its own railway station – its own security force – its own fire and ambulance services – its own daily newspaper – its own florists – its own chemist shop – its own supermarket – its own health service - its own observatory (located at Castel Gandolfo) - its own bank – its own radio station which transmits in 34 languages throughout the world, with the biggest directional antenna in the world.
- The Vatican Museums are listed as one of the top five tourist attractions in Italy and that visitors number around 3 million per year.
- The Apostolic Vatican Library, dating from the 15th century, includes about 800,000 volumes, 80,000 manuscripts, 10,000 incunabula and 100,000 engravings.
- The Vatican Secret Archives, probably one of the most historic and comprehensive collections in the world, holds documents collected over the centuries by Vatican representatives throughout the world.
- The Swiss Guard, the only Military order remaining in the Vatican, were established in 1503 by Pope Julius II and that the same Swiss Cantons still provide the new recruits today; and that the colourful uniforms still worn today by the Swiss Guards are commonly believed to have been designed for them by Michelangelo in the 16th century, although this may be no more than legend.
- The Quirinal Palace, (the largest palace in Rome) was the principal residence of the Popes from 1592 to 1870. When the Popes lost their temporal power at the Unification of Italy, they moved to their second largest palace, the Vatican, while the Kings (and later Presidents) of Italy took over the Quirinal.
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: n/a
GDP per head: n/a
Annual Growth: n/a
Inflation: n/a
Major Industries: n/a
Major trading partners: n/a
Aid & development: significant through Cartias International which brings together all national Catholic Aid agencies e.g. CAFOD in England & Wales and SCIAF in Scotland under a single umbrella.
The Holy See is supported financially by contributions from the 1.1 billion Roman Catholics throughout the world – 'Peter’s Pence' - the sale of postage stamps, souvenirs, museum admission charges and the sale of publications. The Holy See is also involved in banking and financial activities and has its own bank – the I.O.R. - 'L'Istituto per le Opere Religiose' (Institute for Religious Works).
HISTORY
The Vatican City State is situated on the right bank of the River Tiber and includes a slight elevation, a part of which was known in ancient times as the Vatican Hills. Caligula constructed his private circus there in the 1st century AD and it became the scene of early Christian martyrdoms. There is an underground necropolis in which the presumed tomb of St Peter was found in the 1940s. Between 324 and 325 AD the Roman Emperor Constantine erected an imposing basilica over the site of this tomb. The present Basilica of St. Peter – the largest church in Christendom – was built in the 16th century on the same site and the main altar is situated directly over the presumed tomb of St Peter.
Until 1871, the Popes had a significant secular as well as spiritual role. For over a thousand years they had ruled lands in the Italian peninsula. In 1860, as part of the process of Italian unification, the forces of the future King Victor Emmanuel of Italy seized the Papal States, which mostly consited of the territory across central Italy, leaving only Rome and surrounding coastal regions under papal control. In 1871 King Victor Emmanuel captured Rome and he declared it the new capital of Italy.
Successive Popes disputed the legitimacy of the King of Savoy’s acts and refused to recognise the sovereignty of Italy. The Popes retreated to the Vatican Palace. Many of the major powers continued to recognise Papal sovereignty and maintained diplomatic relations with the Pope. In 1929, the Government of Italy and the Holy See signed the Lateran Treaty which recognised the independence of the Holy See. In 1984, the Holy See and Italy modified the provisions of the Lateran Treaty.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The Holy See’s Foreign Policy
Pope Benedict XVI continues to work for better understanding between the Christian churches and with other faiths and has sought to emphasise the role of humanity – and faith - in all aspects of foreign affairs. The Holy See stresses the importance of human rights, including religious freedom. They are keen supporters of efforts to eradicate poverty and actively support international development efforts.
A number of themes characterised the papacy of Pope John Paul II (1978-2005): his principal foreign policy goal was the promotion of freedom of religion and related human rights; he always urged the application of moral principles in international conduct and gave increasing importance to inter-religious dialogue; he sought to reconcile the Roman Catholic Church with other Christian denominations, particularly Orthodox and Anglican; he encouraged the integration of the Central and Eastern European countries of the former Soviet Union with those of Western Europe and was particularly influential in the rise to power of Solidarity in Poland in the 1980s; he 'begged forgiveness' for the crimes committed against the Jews and against humanity in general and was the first Pope ever to visit a synagogue or mosque; and he applied the moral teaching of the Church to recent developments in society such as globalisation and bio-ethics. In the developing world, Pope John Paul II combined deep concern to see conditions improved, through education and economic development, with a determination not to allow compromise in the Church’s pro-life teaching.
The Holy See's Relations with the International Community
It is the Holy See – not the Vatican City State – which has the right to send and receive Ambassadors. Currently, the Holy See has full diplomatic relations with 173 countries, the EU, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. About half of these countries have resident ambassadors in Rome. Most non-resident missions are based in Paris, Berlin, Berne or London. Ambassadors to Italy cannot be jointly accredited to the Holy See. In addition to establishing diplomatic relations, the Holy See has signed concordats with many countries.
The Holy See's Relations with the UK
Formal diplomatic links between the United Kingdom and the Holy See were first established in 1479 when John Shirwood was appointed as the first resident Ambassador. Shirwood was also the first English Ambassador to serve abroad, making the embassy to the Holy See the oldest embassy in the UK diplomatic service.
Among others, Cardinal Bainbridge, De Gigiis and Knight succeeded Shirwood over the years up until 1534, when formal diplomatic relations between England and the Holy See were disrupted.
The United Kingdom re-established relations with the Holy See in 1914. An Apostolic Delegate was sent to London in 1938. In 1982, to coincide with Pope John Paul II’s visit to the United Kingdom, full diplomatic relations were restored when representation was again raised to ambassadorial level after a break of some 448 years.
Her Majesty The Queen has visited the Vatican three times during her reign, most recently in October 2000 to mark the Jubilee Year. Pope John Paul II visited Great Britain in May 1982.
Today the Embassy to the Holy See is a vital part of the UK’s overseas network. It is the centre of a global community of over one billion people and as such is one of the world’s biggest opinion formers. In an era when religion has once more emerged in international relations, the Vatican is key to the continuing policy debate on the proper boundary between faith and politics. The Vatican is taken seriously in the religious world, and in particular the world of ideas. It is a key stabilising influence in the global faith/politics debate and helps keep discussion rational. The Vatican maintains a wide dialogue and is a credible interlocutor with many groups in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Apart from focusing on traditional foreign policy issues from the EU to the Middle East, etc, the UK and Holy See have productive contacts in the areas of inter-faith dialogue, environmental policy, disarmament issues, international development and human rights.
Anglican/Roman Catholic Relations
There are five million Catholics in the United Kingdom. At an international level the main vehicles for ecumenical exchanges between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches are the Anglican/Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM). ARCIC was established by Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey in 1966 and has continued to meet regularly since then. It discusses theological issues. IARCCUM brings together bishops of both churches to discuss more practical issues on the ground.
Diplomatic Representation
The United Kingdom is represented by an Ambassador.
Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Holy See since December 2005 is Francis Martin-Xavier Campbell.The Holy See is represented in the UK by an Apostolic Nuncio (Ambassador).
The Apostolic Nuncio in London since 2004 is the Spanish Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz, formerly Nuncio to the EU in Brussels.
GEOGRAPHY
The Vatican City State is the world's smallest state. It is an enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. There are also some sovereign areas outside the State territory,which also enjoy extraterritorial rights, such as the Basilicas of Saint Mary Major, St. John Lateran and St. Paul’s: the villas and Palace of Castel Gandolfo (the summer residence of the Pope); and the area located in Cesano (Santa Maria di Galeria) which houses Radio Vatican’s transmitting station.
POLITICS
Papal ElectionsThe Pope is elected for life by those members of the College of Cardinals who are less than 80 years old. Canon Law allows for the resignation of a Pope, but this has not happened since the 13th century when Pope Celestine V resigned in 1294.
