Vatican City /ˈvætɪkən ˈsɪti/ officially the State of the Vatican City (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano), is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy. At approximately 44 hectares (110 acres) (0.44 km2), and with a population of around 900, it is the smallest country in the world by both area and population. (This does not include micronations.) Vatican City is a city-state that came into existence in 1929 and is thus distinct from the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, known as the Holy See, which existed long before 1929. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities even have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, only issues diplomatic and service passports; the state of Vatican City issues normal passports. In both cases the passports issued are very few. The Lateran Treaty in 1929, which brought the city-state into existence, spoke of it as a new creation (Preamble and Article III), not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756-1870) that had previously encompassed central Italy. Most of this territory was absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, and the final portion, namely the city of Rome with a small area close to it, ten years later, in 1870. Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state, ruled by the bishop of Rome—the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all clergymen of the Roman Catholic Church. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace. The Popes have resided in the area that in 1929 became Vatican City since the return from Avignon in 1377. Previously, they resided in the Lateran Palace on the Caelian Hill on the opposite side of Rome, which was out of repair in 1377. The signing of the agreements that established the new state took place in the latter building, giving rise to the name of Lateran Pacts, by which they are known.
 St. Peter's Square and the obelisk, from Piazza Pio XII
Catholic Pilgrimages - 2009-2010 -
Priced, scheduled and awaiting your reservation.
Click on an the pilgrimage name for full description and itinerary.
 |  | NORTHERN FRANCE AND BELGIUM - 9 DAYS Including Paris, Lisieux, Caen, Normandy Beaches, Mont St. Michel, Reims, Luxemburg, Bastogne, Our Lady of Beauraing, & Our Lady of Banneux. |  | | CAPITALS OF CENTRAL EUROPE - PRAGUE, VIENNA & BUDAPEST - 9 DAYS Including Prague, Bratislava, Modra, Piestany, Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest. |  | POLAND ~ FOOTSTEPS OF JOHN PAUL II - 10 DAYS Including Warsaw, Niepokolonw, Czestochowa, Wadowice, Zakopane, Kalwaria, Krakow, Wielczka Salt Mines, Lagiewniki-Shrine of Divine Mercy, Auschwitz & Krakow. |  |  | HOLY LAND - 10 DAYS - Including Nazareth, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee, Cana, Capernaum, Mt. Carmel, & more. |  | HOLY LAND & JORDAN - 10 DAYS Including Galilee, Jerusalem, Jerash, Amman, Petra, Madaba & Mt. Nebo. |  | HOLY LAND & EGYPT - 12 DAYS Including Galilee, Jerusalem St. Catherine's Monastery (Mt. Sinai), Cairo, the Pyramids. |  | | EGYPT, JORDAN & HOLY LAND - 14 DAYS Including Cairo, the Pyramids, Mt. Sinai, Petra, Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth & the Galilee, Mt. Carmel |  | GREECE & ISLANDS CRUISE with EPHESUS - 12 DAYS Including Thessaloniki, Philippi, Kalambaka, Athens & Corinth. |  | GREECE - FOOTSTEPS OF ST. PAUL - 9 DAYS - Including Thessaloniki, Philippi, Meteora, Athens & Corinth. |  | FOOTSTEPS OF ST. PAUL ~ GREECE & ROME - 12 DAYS Including Thessaloniki, Philippi, Beria, Meteora, Athens, Corinth & Rome. |  | GREECE & TURKEY by bus - 13 DAYS Including Athens, Corinth, Berea, Thassalonika, Philippi; Canakkale, Pergamos, Sardis, Philadelphia, Pamukkale, Kusadasi-Ephesus, Smyrna, Thyatira, Istanbul. |  | TURKEY - FOOTSTEPS OF ST. PAUL - 10 DAYS
Istanbul, Troas, Canakkale, Pergamum, Thyatira, Smyrna, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Hierapolis, Laodicea, Philadelphia, Sardi, Bursa & Nicea |  | FATIMA - 7 DAYS |  | | FATIMA & NORTHERN PORTUGAL - 10 DAYS Including Braga, Tuy, Porto, Coimbra & Lisbon, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Cures; Bom Jesus and The Holy Mountain of Sameiro; Monte de Santa Luzia; and more. |  | | FATIMA, SANTIAGO & AVILA - 9 DAYS Including Fatima, Santiago de Compostela, Medina de Campo and Avila. |  | | FATIMA / LOURDES / PARIS - 10 DAYS Including Fatima, Lourdes, Nevers & Paris (Shrine of the Miraculous Medal). |  | FATIMA / LOURDES / SPAIN - 11 DAYS - Includes Fatima, Burgos, Lourdes, Zaragoza, Madrid. |  | | ROME, FATIMA, LOURDES & SPAIN - 14 DAYS |  | | ROME - 8 DAYS |  | | SHROUD of TURIN - 11 DAYS |  | | ITALY - "LAND OF THE SAINTS" - FRANCIS & DOMINIC, CLARE & CATHERINE - 12 DAYS | | | | BENEDICTINE ITALY - 10 DAYS Venice, Padua, Florence, Assisi, Norcia, Rome, Subiaco |  | | ROME, ASSISI & FLORENCE - 9 DAYS |  | ROME & SICILY - 10 DAYS Including Palermo, Monreale, Agrigento, Syracuse, Taormina & Messina. |  | PADRE PIO & EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES OF ITALY - 10 DAYS Including Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, Pietrelicina, San Giovanni Rotondo, Lanciano, Loreto, Assisi, Orvieto, Rome. |  | LOURDES & PARIS - 8 DAYS Including TGV train, visit Sacre Coeur and the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal. |  | | GRAND TOUR SHRINES of FRANCE - 10 DAYS Including Lyon, Paray-le-Monial, Ars, Lourdes, Paris, Chartres, and Lisieux |  | GRAND TOUR SHRINES OF SPAIN - 12 DAYS Including Barcelona, Montserrat, Zaragoza, Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Avila & Segovia. |  | CARMELITE SPAIN - 9 DAYS Including Avila, Alba de Tormes, Salamanca, Medina del Campo, Segovia, Toledo & Madrid. |  | | IRELAND ~ FOOTSTEPS OF ST. PATRICK - 9 DAYS Inlcuding Dublin, Boyne Valley - Hill of Tara - Drogheda, St. Brigid's Shrine, Monasterboice, Cavan, Armagh, Downpatrick, Croagh Patrick, Ballina, Knock Shrine, Connemara, Kylemore Abbey, Galway, & Clonmacnoise. |  | MEXICO ~ OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE - 5 DAYS Including Shrine of Guadalupe, Tulpetlac, Pyramids, Ocotlan, & Puebla. |
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