With friendship and cooperation

He was known to everyone as “Father Fernando”, as he had not yet been created Cardinal. The then Father Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, joined the Directorate of Telecommunications, now known as the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems, as Director in January 2008.

Remembering this bond, the employees and managers of the Directorate wished to greet him, by sharing a Eucharist celebration, on Thursday morning, 27 March, at the Governorate’s Church of Mary, Mother of the Family, presided by the Cardinal.

Investments and management in line with the Social Doctrine of the Church

Investments in ESG instruments, in line with the ethical principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church, with the absolute exclusion of all instruments aimed at purely speculative ends, and conservative investments aimed at creating value and increasing capital in the medium to long term, are some of the tasks of one of the newest Directories of the Governorate, the Directorate for the Economy. It has two areas of intervention: state accounting, which manages the bookkeeping of the activities of all the Bodies of the State and oversees its patrimony; economic activities, which oversees the Annona (supermarket), the Emporio (emporium), the sales and marketing of philatelic and numismatic products and the Autoparco, the fleet of vehicles. The following is an interview with Mr. Enrico Bartelucci, released on www.vaticanstate.va.

A painting by Mantegna, expression of faith and art

The following were among the first visitors to the Vatican Museums' new exhibition entitled, “The Mantegna of Pompei”, which opened to the public on Thursday, 20 March: Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, accompanied by Secretaries General, Archbishop Emilio Nappa and Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, Monsignor Tommaso Caputo, Archbishop Prelate of Pompeii and Pontifical Delegate of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, Angelo Scelzo, former Deputy Director of the Press office of the Holy See and Director of Il Rosario e la Nuova Pompei, Ms. Barbara Jatta, Director of Museums and Cultural Heritage, and Ms. Alfonsina Russo, Director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum.

Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, has appointed the members of the Commission on Artificial Intelligence. The five members include officials from the Legal Office, from the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems, and from the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services, in accordance with the Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence that took effect on 1 January 2025, with the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State’s Decree No. DCCII. The appointment is a step forward in the implementation of the prescribed norms.

Astronomy: an experience of wonder and contemplation

A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars: Exploring Wonder, Beauty, and Science, published in February 2025, is the title of the latest book by Brother Guy Consolmagno. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Brother Consolmagno has a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree from MIT, as well as a PhD in planetary sciences from the University of Arizona. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1989, and was appointed Director of the Vatican Observatory by Pope Francis, in 2015.