Rome, Italy encloses Vatican City, a city-state that serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope resides there, along with a wealth of famous artwork and buildings. Ancient Roman sculptures, including the well-known “Laocoön and His Sons,” can be found in the Vatican Museums, together with Renaissance paintings in the Sistine Chapel, which is home to Michelangelo’s ceiling, and the Raphael Rooms.
The Catholic Church’s central authority is called the Holy See. By signing a contract in 1929, the Vatican City State was created, giving the Holy See a tiny geographic foundation and the legal legitimacy it deserves as a sovereign nation under international law. Although both the Holy See and the Catholic Church have independent international legal status, the Holy See serves as the Church’s highest governing body. The entirety of the Vatican is safeguarded as global cultural property by the 1954 Hague Convention.The Roman Curia, a collection of dicasteries, or ministries, and institutes, supports the Pope in the exercise of his ultimate pastoral office in accordance with the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution (Pastor Bonus) of 1988. The Apostolic Camera is one of the dicasteries, along with the Secretariat of State, Congregations, Tribunals, Councils, and Offices.
The Office of the Auditor-General, the Secretariat for the Economy, which answers to a Council for the Economy, and the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See—essentially the Central Bank—manage and supervise the financial, administrative, and economic affairs of Vatican City State and the Holy See. Nearly every issue pertaining to the Church’s central administration is handled by the offices of the Holy See, from political inquiries to diplomatic matters.
The Holy See maintains formal diplomatic ties with 181 nations through the use of the Secretariat of State and a network of diplomatic missions, or nunciatures. In international politics, the Holy See has a special position and significance, and it participates actively in several multilateral forums. It is a member of several international intergovernmental institutions, specialised agencies, and subsidiary bodies of the United Nations. It is also a party to several international agreements, including a number of international human rights treaties. With the exception of voting, the Holy See was granted full UN membership rights in 2004. It participates actively in UN discussions, mostly on social and humanitarian issues but also more and more on global development, governance, peacekeeping, and conflict resolution.
The Vatican is a very special nation, home to only 1000 people.
There is a total monarchy in the city. This indicates that the king or queen in power is unrestricted by written laws, the legislature, or customs. These kinds of monarchies are typically hereditary. This implies that a single family maintains power forever. On the other hand, because Catholic priests must swear an oath of celibacy in order to become popes, the Vatican functions as an elective absolute monarchy.
There are just seven absolute monarchs in the world today, the majority of them are found on the Arabian Peninsula. The Vatican is the only one of these seven absolute monarchy that does not depend on hereditary succession in any way.
Citizenship is awarded to those who must live in the city due to their position or service. Once employment ends, the Vatican usually revokes citizenship. A person is immediately granted Italian citizenship if they are a Vatican citizen and then resign from their job.
He Vatican maintains bilateral ties with numerous nations. The distinction between the Holy See and Vatican City must be acknowledged here. The majority of international institutions do not acknowledge Vatican City because it is not a democracy. Confused yet? The sovereign entity that is competent to establish diplomatic ties is known by the name of the Holy See.
All of this indicates that the Holy See’s or the Vatican’s influence in international affairs is subject to limitations.
For instance, the Holy See now holds permanent observer status with the UN. They can now attend all General Assembly, Security Council, and Economic and Social Council sessions thanks to this. It cannot, however, take part in or cast a ballot. Furthermore, the Holy See delegate is ineligible for council elections.
The significance of the Holy See
It’s improbable that the Vatican would have been granted nation-state status without the Holy See. Eight requirements must be met for a place to qualify as a country. Other nations’ acknowledgement is one of these requirements. To get this recognition, the Holy See must engage in diplomatic ties.
The Holy See is recognised by every member of the UN, however it does not recognise the People’s Republic of China.
The short answer
The short answer is yes, the Vatican is a country in its own right.
Though it is indeed a country, don’t get your hopes up about getting yourself a nice stamp in your passport. Not only do you not need a visa to enter, you don’t need a passport. A Vatican passport stamp does not even exist!
