The post of Governor of the Vatican City State () was held by Marchese Camillo Serafini from the foundation of the state in 1929 until his death in 1952. The governor had power to appoint and supervise the people running the

city state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

. During Serafini's lifetime, the powers of the governor were limited by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in 1939 by the establishment of the

Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (, ) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who also holds the title of President of the Governorate and deputizes as the head of government of Vatican City, as well ...

. No successor was appointed and the position was abolished on Serafini's death. The

has exercised the functions that were previously attributed to the governor since 1952. The President of the commission has also held the title of President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State since 2001, which has the responsibilities of the governor of the state.

History

After the rise of

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

, there was a drive to introduce a (governor) to take responsibility for running the remaining Papal estate, which, following the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

, was limited to the Leonine City in Rome. The term was used as the person was the "govern" the city, but their responsibility was similar to a mayor. The first person to be appointed to the role was Marchese Camillo Serafini, who took office at the creation of the

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 inde ...

on 11 February 1929. On 20 March 1939,

created the

, which had representation from the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

as well as

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

s. The role of the commission was to present the pope's positions and ensure governance of the state aligned with papal policy. Pius XII placed the commission over the governor and so limited the powers of the office. Over time, many of the governor's responsibilities were passed to a Special Delegate that was appointed by the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State on the advice of the pope. Serafini remained in post as governor until his death on 21 March 1952."Milestones"
''Time'', 31 March 1952 Serafini was not replaced and the role was taken over by the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State which consisted of two cardinals and two members of the laity, fulfilling one of Pope Pius XII's dreams that the Vatican City would be ruled by collegiate governance. However, this produced a political problem with executive power uncertain, which subsequent popes attempted to address throughout the remainder of the century. In July 1969, the roles of Special Delegate, president of the Council of State and president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State were combined. This was further reformed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in the

Fundamental Law of Vatican City State The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State () is the Constitution, main governing legal document of the Vatican City State, Vatican's civil entities. The Fundamental Law has existed since 1929. History The Fundamental Law was first published on ...

of 26 November 2000 with the introduction of the title of President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, which is held by the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. The new role has the responsibilities of the (Governor of the State). This Law came into effect on 22 February 2001.

Role

The governor's role was defined by the

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty (; ) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between Italy under Victor Emmanuel III and Benito Mussolini and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle the long-standing Roman question. The treaty and ass ...

, signed on 11 February 1929. This conferred on the governor the right to uphold the laws of the newly founded

, particularly those to do with citizenship. The governor was to be a member of the laity, rather than an

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

member of the Catholic clergy, and a citizen and resident in the Vatican City Appointed by the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, the individual had the power to appoint and supervise the people running the

. To support the role, the pope could appoint a General Counsellor of State, another member of the laity, that could advise both the pope and the governor. The governor could also be assisted by a vice-governor. The governor lived in a house, the Governor's Palace, commissioned by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

that was painted white and constructed of brick and stone.

Citations

References

* * * * * *

External links

Francesco Clementi: La nuova "Costituzione" dello Stato della Città del Vaticano

* ttps://www.mulino.it/isbn/9788815131515 Sullo Stato della Città del Vaticano v. F. Clementi, Città del Vaticano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009 {{Vatican City topics Government of Vatican City