How Does the Vatican Work?

When they hear the name Vatican City, most people think of religious art and the Pope. A lesser-known facet of Vatican City’s operations is its administration, which is sometimes overshadowed by its world-class art and historical ties to Italy. Despite its proximity to Rome, this city-state remains the tiniest world. However, how much do you know about how it is managed? Who’s in charge of all of this? How did the Vatican become a city-state? On February 11, 1929, a treaty agreed between the Vatican and the Italian government created Vatican City as an autonomous city-state. It’s necessary to go back in time to before 1929 to acquire a whole picture.

The History

The Vatican gained control of the land around Rome between the 4th and 18th centuries and served as the capital of the Papal States. For centuries, the Papal States were Popes’ traditional possessions. Things began to change in 1870 when the Italian government came to power. The Pope withdrew into Vatican City’s walls, refusing to recognize the Kingdom of Italy as a sovereign state. Italy decided against expelling the Pope from the Vatican instead of waiting for him to fall apart on his own. For the next 60 years, a stalemate developed between the Church and the secular government, with a succession of popes content to accept their self-imposed exile. Although an agreement was reached in 1929, the Lateran Pacts weren’t signed until then. Vatican City was granted $92 million in compensation for the loss of the Papal States as a result of the agreements, which created it as an independent entity from the Holy See. This offer appears to have been worth the wait!

Administration of Vatican City

The Lateran Treaty was signed in 1929 by the Fascist Italian government to recognize Vatican City’s independence. When the Pope is elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church, they exercise sovereign power. Within the city, he wields unbridled authority in all three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. It wasn’t until 1984, when the Roman Curia underwent a dramatic reorganization, that the Secretariat of State was given authority to oversee day-to-day operations in Vatican City. Priests and nuns comprise the majority of the population, but a few hundred lay people work in secretarial, domestic, trade, and service jobs in Vatican City.

The Pope:

The Pope’s official residence is the Vatican palace located within the city’s perimeter. Holy See refers to the Roman Catholic Church’s administrative body, headed by the Pope as Bishop of Rome. As a result, the Holy See has jurisdiction over all Catholics worldwide. Vatican City was formed in 1929 so that the Pope could exercise his worldwide authority, and since then, it has been housed in the Apostolic Palace near the Vatican mints.

The Pope has been protected by a group of Swiss Guards since 1506. Vatican City also has telephone and postal systems, post office, radio station, astronomical observatory, financial system, and pharmacy. Everything from food and water to electricity and gas must be brought in. There is no income tax, and there are no restrictions on importing or exporting money. One billion Catholics worldwide contribute to the Holy See’s income. Other sources of income include, and the interest accumulated on investments and the revenue from the sale of coins, stamps, and other publications. Since the early 1980s, banks have been required to publish information about their activities and expenditures.

Inside Vatican City

St. Peter’s Basilica, erected in the 4th century and renovated in the 16th century, is the most majestic structure in Rome. It is the second-largest ecclesiastical building in Christendom, after the Yamoussoukro Basilica, built over the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle.

Unlike St. Peter’s Square in the southeast, its walls have medieval and Renaissance influences that define its bounds (Piazza San Pietro). There are six entrances to St. Peter’s Basilica. Still, only three are open to the public— the Arco delle Campane in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, the piazza, and the north wall of the Vatican Museums and Galleries. 

More than ten other buildings in Rome and the Pope’s vacation palace, Castel Gandolfo, are granted special extraterritorial privileges. Many countries have embassies in Vatican City.

Art and Architecture

The Popes were among Italy’s finest supporters of the arts. As a result of its renowned museums and galleries, its Michelangelo and Pinturicchio murals, and Raphael’s Stanze (“Room”), the Vatican continues to attract a wide range of visitors from across the world. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings were restored in 1994, allowing visitors to see them in full colour for the first time in more than a century. The millennial Jubilee in 2000 brought attention to Vatican City around the world, and its absolute monarchy.

Conclusion

There are over 1.6 million printed works and 150,000 manuscripts in the Vatican Apostolic Library, many of which date back to pre-Christian and early Christian eras. The Vatican City publishes L’Osservatore Romano, a daily newspaper, and prints other books and pamphlets in 30 languages, from Georgian to Tamil. The Vatican has been producing its television shows since 1983. Almost all over the world, listeners can hear the station’s radio broadcasts in more than 40 languages. In 1984, UNESCO classified Vatican City as a World Heritage Site.