Global InformationHoly See information
Holy See
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| Capital | Vatican City[note 1] 41°54.2′N 12°27.2′E / 41.9033°N 12.4533°E |
| Ecclesiastical jurisdiction | Diocese of Rome Worldwide [note 2] |
| Official languages | Latin[1] |
| Working languages | Italian[note 3] French[note 4] |
| Religion | Catholic Church (Official) |
| Demonym(s) | Papal Pontifical |
| Type | Apostolic[note 5] Theocracy[note 6] |
| Government | Unitary theocratic Catholic elective absolute monarchy[4][5][6][7] |
• Pope | Francis |
• President of the Governorate | Fernando Vérgez Alzaga |
• Cardinal Secretary of State | Pietro Parolin |
• Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church | Kevin Farrell |
| Sovereign subject of international law | |
• Apostolic see | 1st century by Saint Peter ("Prince of the Apostles") |
• Papal primacy | Early Church – Antiquity (Canon law; legal history) |
• Donation of Sutri | 728 (territory in Duchy of Rome by Lombard King Liutprand) |
• Donation of Pepin | 756 (sovereignty in Duchy of Rome reaffirmed by Frankish King Pepin) |
• Papal States | 756–1870 1075: Dictatus papae 1177: Treaty of Venice (sovereignty reaffirmed by Emperor Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire) |
• Prisoner in the Vatican | 1870–1929 (under the Kingdom of Italy) |
• Vatican City | 1929– (Lateran Treaty with Italy) |
Website Vatican.va | |
The Holy See[8][9] (Latin: Sancta Sedes, lit. 'Holy Chair[10]', Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈsaŋkta ˈsedes]; Italian: Santa Sede [ˈsanta ˈsɛːde]), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See,[11] is the jurisdiction of the pope in his role as the Bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome, which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the worldwide Catholic Church and sovereignty over the city-state known as the Vatican City.[12] As the supreme body of government of the Catholic Church, the Holy See enjoys the status of a sovereign juridical entity under international law.[13]
According to Catholic tradition and historical records, it was founded in the first century by Saints Peter and Paul, and by virtue of the doctrines of Petrine and papal primacy, it is the focal point of full communion for Catholic Christians around the world.[14] The Holy See is headquartered in, operates from, and exercises "exclusive dominion" over the independent Vatican City State enclave in Rome, of which the Pope is sovereign.[15]
The Holy See is administered by the Roman Curia (Latin for "Roman Court"), which is the central government of the Catholic Church.[16][17] The Roman Curia includes various dicasteries, comparable to ministries and executive departments, with the Cardinal Secretary of State as its chief administrator. Papal elections are carried out by part of the College of Cardinals.
Although the Holy See is often metonymically referred to as the "Vatican", the Vatican City State was distinctively established with the Lateran Treaty of 1929, between the Holy See and Italy, to ensure the temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence of the papacy.[18] As such, papal nuncios, who are papal diplomats to states and international organizations, are recognized as representing the Holy See and not the Vatican City State, as prescribed in the Canon law of the Catholic Church. The Holy See is thus viewed as the central government of the Catholic Church.[17] The Catholic Church, in turn, is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world.[19]
The Holy See maintains bilateral diplomatic relations with 183 sovereign states, signs concordats and treaties, and performs multilateral diplomacy with multiple intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations and its agencies, the Council of Europe, the European Communities, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Organization of American States.[20][21][22]
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "About the Holy See". 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ "Background Notes, the Holy See". 1995. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ "About the Holy See". 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
- ^ "Internet portal of Vatican City State". Vatican City State. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
factbookwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Robbers, Gerhard (2006) Encyclopedia of World Constitutions Archived 4 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0-81606078-8. p. 1009.
- ^ Nick Megoran (2009) "Theocracy" Archived 9 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, p. 226 in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, vol. 11, Elsevier ISBN 978-0-08-044911-1
- ^ "the Holy See". Cambridge Dictionary. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024.
- ^ "the Holy See". Oxford Learners Dictionaries. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024.
- ^ "the Holy See (Catholic Encyclopedia)". 28 January 2024. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Livingstone, Elizabeth A. (2006). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-19-861442-5. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Holy See (10/05)". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Holy See". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ Holmes, J. Derek (1978). The Triumph of the Holy See: A Short History of the Papacy in the Nineteenth Century. Burns & Oates. p. 142. ISBN 978-7-80186-160-3. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "Holy See, The country brief". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Government of Australia). Archived from the original on 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "Code of Canon Law: text - IntraText CT". www.intratext.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ a b United States. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs (1989). "The Holy See". Backgr Notes Ser: 1–4. PMID 12178005. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ "Lateran Treaty | Italy [1929]". Britannica. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Agnew, John (12 February 2010). "Deus Vult: The Geopolitics of Catholic Church". Geopolitics. 15 (1): 39–61. doi:10.1080/14650040903420388. S2CID 144793259.
- ^ "Holy See's Presence in the International Organizations". The Holy See. Archived from the original on 15 February 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ "Holy See". Travel & living abroad. Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ^ "Holy See - Observer". Council of Europe. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.