The Vatican

The home of the pope is Vatican City, which has been recognized as an independent state since the Lateran Agreement of 1929. The Vatican consists of 109 acres in the middle of Rome, and is home to about 1,000 people. Roman persecution of Christians stopped in 313 A.D., when Emperor Constantine legally recognized the religion with the Edict of Milan. In 321, Constantine went even further, donating the imperial property of Lateran Palace to the Bishop of Rome, along with several other parcels of property that the Romans had taken from the Church in the preceding centuries.

These donations ceased around 600 A.D., but 150 years later King Pepin of the Franks gave the Pope Central Italy to govern (about 16,000 square miles). From 754-1870, the Vatican was part of the Papal States, also called the Patrimony of St. Peter. During the unification of the Italian penninsula, Giuseppe Garibaldi seized the Papal States in order to create present day Italy. This marked the end of any sort of secular rule by the Bishop of Rome. The pope of the time, Pius IX, while supportive of a united Italy, was opposed to Garibaldi and King Victor Emmanuel because of their anti-religion, secular politics.

Today, the Vatican is the smallest country in the world yet, ironically, has the most foreign embassies of any nation on Earth. Marconi (the man who invented radio) created a personal broadcast system for Pope Pius XI, and Vatican Radio launched in 1931. In addition to radio, the Vatican also broadcasts a television station and over the Internet.

Besides the Pope, the only real citizens of the Vatican are the various diplomats and officials who work for the Holy See. These diplomats consist of both clergy and laity and hail from countries all over the world. They hold dual citizenships with both the Vatican and their home nations. Dating from their mission to Rome in 1507, about 107 Swiss Guards protect the pope wearing colorful, ceremonial garb. There are also additional plainclothes officers in the Swiss Guard who use modern equipment to keep an eye on those who visit the Holy Father, especially after the 1981 assasination attempt on John Paul II.