Vatican+City

Vatican City Many people don’t know what Vatican City is, what it does, why it is important, or even where it is located. Even so, it is a very important place, with a lot of worldly influence.

To start off, Vatican City (also known as “The Holy See”) isn’t really much of a city at all. It is a country, smacked right in the middle of downtown Rome, Italy (“Christmas”). Yes, a country inside a city. It is the official residence of the pope, the earthly leader of the Catholic Church, and one of the most recognizable religious figures in the world. The Vatican gained its independence in February, 1929 (CIA), but that is not when the legacy of the Vatican began. It really began 2,000 years ago, during the time of Jesus Christ.

Before the area now known as the Vatican is now located was largely inhabited, ancient roman writers described the area as hilly, marshy, flooded often, with lots of snakes and malaria. There was also a vineyard in the vicinity that had the reputation to produce extremely sour wine. (Starzak)

But in 40 A.D., the Roman emperor Caligula began building a circus/stadium (like the famous Coliseum, only smaller) in the area. Caligula didn’t finish the stadium, but his successor, the infamous emperor Nero did. Then one of the most controversial events in the history of the Roman Empire occurred. In July, 64, a great fire raged through Rome for about a week, destroying almost the entire city. The circus/stadium, being on the outskirts of Rome at the time, was spared. Most people today think that Nero himself started the fire, so he could remodel Rome to his liking. Some people think it was simply an accident. Either way, Nero hastily placed the blame on the already-despised Christians. Hundreds were arrested, and after a couple of days in prison they would be brought to this stadium where the citizens of Rome would watch them die. Some were eaten alive by exotic animals, some fought to the death in gladiator fights, while others were simply crucified. Crucifixion was probably the worst, most shameful, slow and most painful of the three. As you may know, Jesus Christ was put to death this way in Jerusalem. When Saint Peter was given his death sentence, he asked his executioners to crucify him up-side-down, for he was “unworthy to die in the same manner as Christ did.” A Catholic saint is someone recognized by the Church to have lived a very holy life and is currently in heaven. Catholics recognize Peter as the first pope, the founder of the legendary papacy that still continues today with Pope Benedict XVI. After Peter died, he was buried nearby outside of the stadium. Today, this is known as St. Peter’s Square, which is at the heart of the Vatican and is believed to be directly above his gravesite. (Starzak)

In 312, Roman emperor Constantine gained the throne. Earlier, before a battle, he had a vision of a cross and above it the words “by this, win!” Constantine’s army won the battle. One of his first actions as Roman emperor was legalizing Christianity. Years of persecution, hiding, running, and dying for the Christians were finally over. In honor of St. Peter, Constantine built the first, original St. Peter’s church in the Vatican. (Starzak) This today is known as St. Peter’s Basilica. (Starzak) Many parts of the basilica have been added and some has even been destroyed since its completion. A basilica is basically a very large church with some kind of religious importance. There are four major basilicas, and 1,585 minor basilicas spread out across the globe. St. Peter’s is one of the four major ones. (gcatholic.com)

From this point on, the church and the Roman Empire lived side-by-side, peacefully. That is, until the Roman Empire fell, of course. After that, Rome was taken over by a number of different peoples as Europe plunged into the Middle Ages. More and more people dedicated their life to Christianity, therefore also to the pope. Popes began having lands given to them for them to rule and control. These were called the Papal States and were mostly located in central Italy. But still, the Vatican kept on being a target for many lords. This eventually led to the hiring of the Swiss Guard.

On January 22, 1506, a troop of 189 Swiss mercenaries arrived in the Vatican to help provide protection and safety from all of the ambitious petty kingdoms in central Italy. But this small, rag-tag band of inexperienced soldiers was not made to protect the Vatican from an attack like the one that was to come. On May 6, 1526, thousands of French troops under the command of Emperor Charles V marched into Rome and The Vatican. Pope Clement VII was forced to flee to a nearby castle, with 42 of the guards escorting him. The other 147 were left to defend the Vatican and St. Peter’s from the thousands of French invaders. They fought to the death, many making their last stand near the altar of St. Peter’s. This attack is now known as the Sack of Rome. The Swiss Guard still exists today, and they wear their traditional orange-and-blue striped uniforms. (Fr. Collins)

In July of 1800 the Vatican and the Papal states fell to french invaders again, this time led by Napoleon Bonaparte. But still, the Vatican still survived until its independence in 1929. (Starzak)

Of course, over time many changes have been made to the Vatican. Like I said before, many additions have been added to St. Peter’s including the great dome (designed by Michelangelo), many statues, and the Sistine Chapel. In 847, Pope Leo III built the first wall around the Vatican. More recently, museums, a radio station, a TV station, and a seminary have been added. A seminary is a place where men train and learn to become priests. Also, a large Egyptian obelisk was mounted in the center of St. Peter’s square. (Starzak)

Obviously, the Vatican today is much different than it was 2,000, 1,000, or even 500 years ago. The official estimate of the population in the Vatican is 880. (CIA) The Vatican is only 0.44 square miles. Since it has nothing to make its money off of other than museum entrance fees, the Vatican needs a special way to make money. That’s where Peter’s Pence comes in. Every mass, there is a tithing collection, where people put money in a basket. A mass is a catholic service. Some of that money goes to the parish, some for the priest’s salary, but a percentage of it goes to keeping the Vatican running. (CIA) But many things are still the same. The pope still is head of the Vatican. St. Peter’s is still a major tourist site. The future is bright for the Vatican and for those who have anything to do with it. Every year, more and more tourists and pilgrims come to visit the small country. Since there are about 1 Billion Catholics in the world, the Vatican has almost no chance of shutting down or collapsing.

The Vatican is a very special and important place, even though many people do not recognize it as one. The pope still lives in the Vatican, just like almost all of the popes before him. Every day, the pope comes out of his room to address the crowd of tourists who have come to hear him speak. But he doesn’t do it in a big city. He doesn’t do it in front of a political landmark. He does it from a balcony just outside of his room, in a tiny country with a lot of importance. The one and only, Vatican.

Works Cited
 * 1) Chow, Gabriel. “Basilicas in the World”. __Giga-Catholic Information__. June 30 2009. Nov. 8 2011. http://www.gcatholic.com/churches/bas.htm.
 * 2) // Christmas in Italy and Vatican City. // Chicago, Illinois: World Book Inc. 2006.
 * 3) "CIA: The World Factbook 2000: Holy See (Vatican City)." //CIA World Fact Book// (2002): 2135. //MAS Ultra - School Edition//. Web. Nov. 2. 2011
 * 4) Collins, Fr. Michael. //The Vatican: Secrets and Treasures of the Holy City.// New York City. DK Publishing. 2008
 * 5) Starzak, Robert J. “’A Small Patch of Land’: the Rise of Vatican City”. //History Magazine// 11.6 (2010): 20-24. History Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 28 Oct. 2011