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“Celebrating Francis in the time of Francis. Franciscan echoes in the Vatican Pinacoteca, 800 years after the appearance of the Stigmata”, is the theme of a conference that will be held at the Vatican Museums at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, 24 October. The event, which is part of the “Thursday in the Museums” initiative, will be live streamed.
The Vatican Observatory has announced that 25 students from 21 countries will participate in its 19th Summer School on Astronomy and Astrophysics, VOSS 2025, in June, and have the opportunity of exploring the universe with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Courses will take place at the Vatican Observatory, in the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo.
The theme of the nativity scene set up in the entrance of the Palace of the Governorate, is the Jubilee, with its depiction of a partly-opened Holy Door. Its uniqueness is that it can be contemplated from any direction because its creators, Augusto Minosse, Andrea Carlino and Fabio Frezza, of the Garden and Environmental Services of the Directorate for Infrastructures and Services, designed it with a 360 degree view in mind. It is set on a rocky hill and is protected by a colourful wooden and foam rubber covering, just below the main group of figures: Mary, Joseph and the Child, surrounded by the shepherds and the Magi.
A year has passed since the Basic Law of the Vatican City State came into force: 7 June 2023-7 June 2024. Pope Francis, issued it on 13 May 2023, on the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima. It replaced the one of Saint John Paul II of 26 November 2000 which, in turn, had replaced that issued on 7 June 1929 by Pius XI.
In order to respond to the needs of Vatican employees, the Governorate of Vatican City State has promoted the opening of a day care centre, an educational and social service that will contribute to the integral formation of children, alongside families.
In view of the expected increase in the number of visitors and pilgrims for the Jubilee Year, an over-the-counter pharmacy, under the direction of the Vatican Pharmacy, will be placed in the Charlemagne Wing of Saint Peter’s Square. Fr. Iulian Misariu will bless the premises during an inauguration ceremony on Monday morning, 16 December.
Faced with the recent years’ changing habits in the use of communication and information technologies, the Governorate of Vatican City State, is updating and digitizing its communication.
As part of this process, it has opened an Instagram Account: Governatorato_SCV.
The account will mainly report on the activities of the governing bodies, namely the President, the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General, and of each Directorate. The most important information will be transmitted via audiovisual media.
Our Lady of Altagracia has been protecting and accompanying the people of the Dominican Republic since 1514. A replica of the venerated image can also be found in the Vatican Garden’s Bastione Maestro. According to tradition, the image appeared on an orange tree. In memory of the Apparition and in an effort to strengthen the bond between Vatican City State and the faithful of the Caribbean nation, on Tuesday morning, 23 July, Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State and Luis Emilio Montalvo Arzeno, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the Holy See, planted an orange tree in the Vatican Gardens. Salvatore Farina, Director of the Directorate for Infrastructures and Services, was also present at the tree planting event.
Seventy five years ago, on 29 September 1949, Pius XII proclaimed Saint Michael Archangel, Protector of the People of God and victor of the fight between good and evil, the Patron Saint and protector of the Police. On the occasion of the liturgical feast of the Archangel, who is also the Patron Saint of the Gendarmerie Corps, on Sunday morning, 29 September, Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, celebrated Holy Mass in the Vatican’s Church of Maria, Madre della Famiglia (Mary, Mother of the Family). Fr Luigi Trapelli, national coordinator of chaplains of the State Police and five chaplains concelebrated with him.
Perhaps not everyone knows that in the Vatican too, personal data is protected by law. On 30 April 2024, with Decree No. DCLVII, the Pontifical Commission of Vatican City State promulgated its first General Regulation on the protection of personal data.
The appointment will be effective on 1 March.
Sr. Petrini’s appointment represents continuity, as she has been serving as Secretary General of the Governorate since 4 November 2021. Prior to that, she had served the Holy See as an Official of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Pope Francis has appointed the following as Secretaries General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, effective 1 March 2025: Archbishop Emilio Nappa, who has been serving as Assistant Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization in the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches, and as President of the Pontifical Mission Societies; Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi (lawyer), who has been serving as Deputy Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
Five hundred colored balloons made of natural rubber - all biodegradable, including the rope, expression of the vocation to protect creation of the Governorate - launched into the sky to express joy for meeting with Pope Francis. On each were impressed the words of the Pontiff: "To you, dear boy, to you, dear girl, you are precious in the eyes of God".
The Pope has decided that, as of 1 January 2025, permanent employees of the Governorate with large families, including three or more children, will receive a monthly bonus of 300 euros.
On Tuesday afternoon, 31 December 2024, Pope Francis visited the Nativity Scene from Grado, located in Saint Peter’s Square. Earlier, he had presided at First Vespers for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the Te Deum hymn of thanksgiving for the conclusion of the year.
“Faith and science can be united in charity, provided that science is put at the service of the men and woman of our time and not misused to harm or even destroy them. I encourage you, then, to press forward to the outer limits of human knowledge. For there, we can come to experience the God of love, who fulfils the deepest yearnings of the human heart”, Pope Francis said on Thursday morning, 20 June, to participants in the second international conference dedicated to Msgr. Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), the Belgian physicist who developed what is today known as the Big Bang theory.
“Following the example of Saint Michael Archangel, be like the angels, who protect and serve”, Pope Francis said to Gendarmes on Saturday afternoon, 5 October, during Holy Mass at the Altar of the Chair in Saint Peter’s Basilica, on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Michael Archangel, Patron Saint of the Gendarmerie Corps. The celebration had to be postponed from 29 September, due to the Pope’s Apostolic Journey in Luxembourg and Belgium.
For the election of the Successor of Peter, the Habemus Papam postal cancellation will be available for postage use.
The Postal and Philately Service of the department of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate announces that it will be possible, immediately after the papal election, to obtain the cancellation postmark at the Vatican Post Office in St. Peter's Square.
The Postal and Philately Service of the department of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate communicates that the postmark or cancelation for the Opening of the Conclave is available for postage use as of Wednesday, 7 May at 4:30 p.m.
The cancelation is available at the Post Office in St. Peter's Square.
The illustration on the cancellation is taken from a detail of the Last Judgement by Michelangelo, located in the Sistine Chapel. It depicts St. Peter in the act of handing over his mandate to Christ. The scene depicts the symbolic offering of the keys to the Kingdom, without rings, by Peter to the Lord.
A Jesuit's Guide to the Stars - Exploring Wonder, Beauty, and Science, a new book by Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory and of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, was presented on Monday evening, 3 February, in the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington D.C.
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