Vatican and Catholic Popes

 Saint Peter to Pope Benedict XVI

265 Popes

Sistine Chapel

Saint Peter's Basilica Webcam

A beautiful coffee table book showing everyday life in the Vatican

According to the Catholic catechism, the pope is Saint Peter's successor and the Bishop of Rome. To quote from the catechism, the pope:

"...is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.  For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."

A pope is elected by a two-thirds vote of a conclave of cardinals under the age of 80.  If after 13 days a pope has not been elected, the cardinals pause for a day of prayer and reflection, and the two cardinals with the greatest number of votes in the lastest balloting will be in a runoff election, but these two cardinals cannot vote.  The new pope must garner two-thirds of the vote in the runoff election.  Voting is held in the Sistene Chapel, and the two runoff cardinals may remain in the Sistene Chapel during the runoff vote.  Pope Benedict XVI became pope on the second day of the conclave after three ballots.

The Vatican Gardens are closed to the public every afternoon to allow the pope to enjoy the gardens in peaceful solitude if he so wishes. 

One third of Vatican City is gardens.

Yellow and white are the colors of the Vatican's flag.

The pope's license plate number is SCV 1
(SCV is the Italian abbreviation for Vatican City State - Stato della Citta del Vaticano)

Lateran Treaty - The Vatican became a city-state on February 11, 1929

As Bishop of Rome, the pope has possession of
Saint John Lateran Basilica

Vatican has added a "rapid intervention group" and an "anti-sabotage department" to its police force, Domenico Giani, and will work closely with Interpol, the international police force, to prevent a terrorist attack.  The Vatican has received threats.

Under Pope Benedict XVI the Vatican has become carbon neutral.  Pope Benedict XVI restored 37 acres of Hungarian forest destroyed during the Middle Ages.  The restoration gives off enough oxygen to compensate for the carbon dioxide the Vatican puts into the air.

The 2008 Euro Solar Prize was awarded to the Vatican for the solar powered roof atop Pope Paul VI Audience Hall.

The Vatican has signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions banning production and use of cluster bombs.  The Vatican states that cluster bombs are an "inhumane type of weapon."

In celebrating Vatican City's 80^th birthday, Pope Benedict XVI said Vatican City is important because it "unceasingly announces a message of true social progress, hope, reconciliation and peace.  Everyone from every part of the world pays attention to this tiny strip of land."  Vatican City was established on February 11, 1929, and is the smallest country followed by Monaco, the second smallest in territory.

As of December, 2007, the Vatican City State reported that it had diplomatic relationships with 176 nations and added: "To these 176 states are added the European communities and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta as well as two missions of a special character, the mission of the Russian Federation governed by an ambassador, and the office of the Organization for the Liberation of Palestine (OLP) governed by a director."

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, on visiting the U. S.:  "I have to speak of the vitality, the alive spirit of the people" and "a huge identification with being Catholic and with the Catholic Church."

Vatican City State Webcam

Vatican City plans to erect a statue of Galileo near the apartment where he was under house arrest in 1633 awaiting trial, 400 years after Galileo's Inquisition trial for heresy in proclaiming the Copernican doctrine that the earth revolved around the sun.  In 1979 Pope John Paul II expressed regret at the way Galileo was treated and invited the Church to take another look at Galileo's trial.

Regarding Vatican investments, Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, stated: "We are very prudent, and we invest mostly in bonds.  We act with the logic of a good father of the family."

 Vatican Museums entrance fee is €14 - Free on the last Sunday of the month. Closed all other Sundays.

Vatican 2008

Vatican City has the world's highest standard of living.

Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See on new employee regulations:

The principal and most innovative measure concerns the new parameters for the payment of staff who are employed in a system of 10 functional levels and above all the introduction of classes of merit within each individual level. This novelty brings an element of incentive and remuneration into the Vatican salary system taking into account within each individual functional level of factors such as dedication, professionalism, productivity and correctitude. Other measures relate to management categories and to regulations concerning lay management personnel. All these measures will come into effect on January 1, 2008, though the classes of merit will be gradually applied over time. It should be recalled that from January 1, new measures for overtime payments will also come into effect completing those introduced over the last few months. All these measures involve advantages for staff and, naturally, a greater outlay for the administrative offices which are invited to follow wise management practices in order to be able to meet these new expenses which are aimed at improving the treatment of staff.

Vatican 2007

 On December 6, 2007, the Knights of Columbus presented Pope Benedict XVI with a check for $1.6MM.

Vatican 2006

Revenue:  €227,815,031

Expenditures: €225,409,716

Vatican announced a €2,405,315 budget surplus in 2006 stating that the weak U. S. dollar hurt revenues

Vatican reported 2006 staffing at 2,704 of whom 773 are ecclesiastics, 331 are religious, and 1,600 are lay.

2006 Peter's Pence offering totaled $101,900,192.71/€74.857.979 up from $59.4MM in 2005

Vatican Museums' revenue for 2006 was $65MM with $32.5MM in expenses, providing the Vatican with its greatest single source of income.

Vatican 2005

Vatican investments earned $55MM in 2005 compared to $7.7MM in 2004.

Vatican spent $8.9MM on Pope John Paul II's funeral and the installation of Pope Benedict XVI.  Most of that expense was the extra paycheck the Vatican staff is traditionally paid upon the death of a pope and the extra paycheck the Vatican staff is paid upon the installation of a new pope.

Vatican announced a €9.7MM/$12.4MM budget surplus in 2005

 Vatican 2004  

     Revenue:  €205.7 million/$246.3 million

Expenditures:  €202.6 million/$241.3 million

Vatican announced a €3.1MM/$5MM budget surplus in 2004

Vatican 2003

        Revenue:  €203.6 million/$250 million

Expenditures:  €213 million/$260 million

Vatican 2002

Revenue:   $245,000,000

Expenses:   $260,000,000

The papal ring has a figure of Saint Peter casting his net from a fisherman's boat.

Via della Conciliazione is the street leading to Saint Peter's Square.

Pope's summer residence is Castel Gandolfo.

Only the pope can change a bishop's assignment.

Basilica.  Honorary church of the pope.

Rescript.  Written permission from the pope.

The shortest pontificate was Urban VII (No. 228), pope for 13 days.

The longest pontificates were Saint Peter (No. 1), pope for 37 years, followed by Pius IX (No. 255), pope for 32 years and John Paul II (No. 264), pope for 26 years.

Five popes abdicated.

Nine popes were deposed.

Pope Benedict IX was pope three times (Nos. 145, 147, 150); therefore, we could say there were 262 popes.

Pope Benedict XVI was elected on the second day after three ballots.  Pope John Paul II was elected in 2 days after 8 ballots, Pope John Paul I was elected after 1 day and 4 ballots, Pope Paul VI was elected after 2 days and 6 ballots, Pope John XXIII was elected after 3 days and 11 ballots, and Pope Pius XII was elected after 1 day and 3 ballots.

The papal villa, Castel Gandolfo, has milking cows.

In 2003 the Vatican used 32 million kilowatt hours of electricity.

Telephone used by Pope Pius XI to Pope John XXIII.  The current phone is white. 

In 2003 the Vatican made 9.2 million telephone calls.

In 2005 the Vatican made 8.2 million telephone calls.

Vatican receives 2,000 telephone calls a day answered 24/7 by the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master.

Vatican had 10 phones in 1886 and 5,000 phones in 2005.

Pope's telephone extension in 1930 was x112.

Vatican Call Center

Since 1688 the Oblate Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus have cared for the pope's liturgical vestments and the linens used in papal Masses.

There are 90 miles of documents in the Vatican archives.

There are 63 popes buried in Saint Peter's Basilica.

The papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace has seven large rooms and a chapel as well as a roof garden.