A series of lectures on Vatican City State Law, promoted by the Pontifical Lateran University’s Faculty of Civil Law and coordinated by Professor Carni, is scheduled to begin on 24 February. During the course, several law professors and legal experts will deliver lectures. Professor Carni will deliver the first lecture, which will be an introduction to the history of Vatican Law.
A service carried out above all “behind the scenes,” and a task that “builds security, order, respect,” considering that “it is not just a profession: it is a service for the good of the Church.” Thus spoke Pope Leo XIV, addressing the members of the Vatican City State Gendarmerie Corps during the Eucharistic Concelebration, presided at the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on Sunday afternoon, October 5, on the feast of their Patron, Saint Michael the Archangel.
“Today, on this day dedicated to the sick, we wish to pray in communion with all those who suffer throughout the world. We pray for you. I sincerely thank you for making the effort to come and to accompany us in this moment of prayer, here before our Mother Mary, on her liturgical memorial, Our Lady of Lourdes.” These were the words of Pope Leo XIV, spoken in front of the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on Wednesday morning, 11 February, after the General Audience.
“The AI and the Future of Work” was the theme of the international conference held on Tuesday morning, May 5, at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
From February 23 to May 27, the Pontifical Lateran University will host the course entitled “Law of the Vatican City State,” coordinated by Matteo Carnì, Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Civil Law of the same University.
For the first time, the Band of the Gendarmerie Corps and the Band of the Pontifical Swiss Guard will perform together. The wind and percussion ensemble will take place in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo on Monday, September 29, at 8:00 p.m., on the feast of the Patron Saint of Vatican City State, Saint Michael the Archangel.
A total of 2,120 college degrees were awarded by the University of Notre Dame during its 181st commencement ceremony, Commencement 2026. The event, attended by more than 20,000 people—including students, faculty members, families, and friends—was held at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, in the United States.
“The Barberini Tapestry Workshop – The Resurrection and the Dedication of St. Peter’s Basilica” is the theme of the exhibition inaugurated on Monday afternoon, March 30, in the Conference Hall of the Vatican Museums.
As a symbolic gesture of friendship between the Vatican City State and the Republic of Azerbaijan, a pomegranate tree was planted in the Vatican Gardens. The occasion was the visit of H.E. Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva, First Vice-President of Azerbaijan.
The Musical Band of the Gendarmerie Corps will perform in concert on Wednesday, at 7:30 p.m., in the Roman Basilica of San Vitale at the Quirinale, as part of the musical series Sacrae Militiae Sonus.
The Band—conducted by Maestro Stefano Iannilli and coordinated by Deputy Commissioner of the Gendarmerie Mauro Colaiacomo, will be accompanied by the Giovani Don Bosco choir, directed by Veronica Piscitelli.
The six Benedictine nuns who reside in the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae Monastery have been praying for Pope Francis’ recovery, ever since he entered Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
“The acceptance of frailty as an instrument for personal sanctification and as a means through which God can act had, for Clare, a very precise name: poverty lived with joy.” With these words, Bishop Vincenzo Viva of Albano presided over the concelebrated Eucharist on the feast day of Saint Clare of Assisi on Tuesday afternoon, 11 August, at the Poor Clares’ Monastery of the Immaculate Conception, located within the territory of the Pontifical Villas in the town of Albano.
A calling that becomes contagious—that of Saint Clare of Assisi—when, in San Damiano, even her mother Ortolana and her sister Beatrice embraced the same form of life. This is confirmation that it was not an isolated choice but rather “a calling that even today sets us on the journey, if we listen to it—a calling that provokes processes of inner transformation”.Thus spoke the Bishop of Albano, Monsignor Vincenzo Viva, as he presided over the concelebrated Eucharist on the feast of Saint Clare of Assisi, Monday afternoon, August 11, at the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception of the Poor Clares, located within the territory of the Pontifical Villas. The latter are administered by the Governorate of Vatican City State.
During a ceremony on Monday morning, 3 March, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, Coadjutor Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major blessed a wooden Lithuanian Cross in the Vatican Gardens.
A statue of Mary Rosa Mystica (Mystic Rose) was blessed in the Vatican on Monday, April 14, by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The ceremony was attended by Archbishop Emilio Nappa, Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, along with the two Secretaries of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Monsignor John Joseph Kennedy and Father Armando Matteo.
A generous new contribution from the Illinois Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums has permitted the restoration of a tunic of the Sancta Sanctorum, which held the most ‘sacred’ relics of Christianity.
Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Pontifical Commission of Vatican City State and President of the Governorate, has been awarded with the highest national honour of Guatemala, the Order of the Quetzal. The award ceremony was held on Thursday morning, 20 June, in the Palace of the Governorate. Guatemalan Minister, Ambassador Carlos Ramiro Martínez Alvarado, and Alfredo Vásquez Rivera, Ambassador of Guatemala to the Holy See, attended the ceremony as representatives of the Guatemalan government.
A Korean presence in the Vatican Gardens to implore Mary for universal peace is the hope with which a mosaic of Our Lady of Peace Korean was blessed in the Vatican Gardens. The ceremony took place on Friday afternoon, 20 September, during the liturgical memorial of the Martyrs, Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first ordained priest of Korea, Saint Paul Chông Hasang and their companions.
In places of care, God continues to make Himself present each day through the often hidden service of those who work for the good of others. This was emphasized by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President Emeritus of the Governorate of Vatican City State, during the celebration of a Holy Mass in honor of the Christmas season on Saturday afternoon, 20 December, in the Church of Mary, Mother of the Family, at the Governorate.
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.
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