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Vatican Murders
The Vatican murders occurred on 4 May 1998, when Swiss Guard lance corporal Cédric Tornay, using his service pistol, shot and killed the commander of the Swiss Guard, Alois Estermann, and Estermann's wife, Gladys Meza Romero, in Vatican City, before killing himself. The murder happened the same day that Estermann was confirmed in his position as commander, after a period of being acting commander. Estermann, as the acting commander of the guard, had disciplined Tornay for infractions; as a result, he rejected Tornay for the Benemerenti medal, which Swiss Guards usually receive. Prior to the crime, Tornay wrote a suicide note to his family complaining about Estermann and the supposed injustices he had inflicted against him. The case shocked the Vatican and initiated a media frenzy. The murders spawned various conspiracy theories that questioned the official narrative, though none has ever been substantiated. Background The Swiss Guard are the pope's bodyguards, and the sma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatican City
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became independent from the Kingdom of Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. It is governed by the Holy See, itself a Legal status of the Holy See, sovereign entity under international law, which maintains Temporal power of the Holy See, its temporal power, governance, diplomacy, and spiritual independence. ''Vatican'' is also used as a metonym for the pope, the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Holy See and the Roman Curia. With an area of and a population of about 882 in 2024, it is the List of countries and dependencies by area, smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and List of countries and dependencies by population, by population. It is among the List of national capitals by population, least populated capit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
