The flag of Vatican City is the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

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 ...

. It was adopted in 1929, the year

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 ...

signed 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 ...

with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, creating the new independent state of Vatican City. The flag is a vertical bicolour of yellow and white, with the white half charged with the

emblem of the Holy See The coat of arms of the Holy See combines two crossed keys and a tiara, used as the official emblem of the Holy See, and by extension, the wider Catholic Church. These forms have origins attested from the 14th century."A red shield bearing two wh ...

papal tiara The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid–20th century. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963, and only at the beginning of his reign. The name ''tiara'' refers t ...

and the crossed keys of Saint Peter). It was modeled after the 1808 flag of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

, a yellow-and-white bicolour defaced with the tiara and keys in the centre. It is one of only two national flags that use a 1:1

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

, along with the

flag of Switzerland The national flag of Switzerland displays a white Greek cross in the center of a square red field. The white cross is known as the Swiss cross or the federal cross. Its arms are equilateral, and their ratio of length to width is 7:6. The size ...

. The flag of Vatican City is also referred to as the flag of the Holy See. The

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, which governs Vatican City, has

ecclesiastical jurisdiction Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is jurisdiction by Clergy, church leaders over other church leaders and over the laity. Overview Jurisdiction is a word borrowed from the legal system which has acquired a wide extension in theology, wherein, for examp ...

over the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. As a result, the flag is also a symbol of Catholic faith or identity, and it is often displayed at Catholic churches.

Description

The 2023

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 ...

states: "The flag of the

Vatican City State 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 ...

is made up of two vertically divided sides, one yellow adhering to the hoist and the other white, and in the latter carries the

tiara A tiara (, ) is a head ornament adorned with jewels. Its origins date back to ancient Greco-Roman world. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women at formal occasions ...

with the

keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

, all according to the model on Annex A of this Law".

Regulations

Current regulations

The flag is described in Article 23 of the 2023

, with a visual model appended as Attachment A.

Previous regulations

The flag is described in Article 19 of the 1929 Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, with a visual model appended as Attachment A. The flag is also described in Article 20 of the 2000 Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, with a visual model appended as Attachment A. The 2000 Fundamental Law of Vatican City State's Attachment A, shows a square flag. In 2010, the Apostolic Nunciature to Germany stated that the flag does not have to be square.

History

Before 1808, the Papal States commonly used a bicolor, yellow-red flag, which was derived from the colours of the Holy See's coat of arms, as well as being the two traditional colours of the Senate and the Roman people. In 1798, Napoleon established the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, which introduced a black, white, and red flag; after the Papal rule was restored,

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

restored the Papal cockade, which was described as red and yellow. In 1808, Pope

Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

ordered the Vatican's Noble Guard and other troops to replace red color with white, in order to distinguish them from the troops that had been incorporated into

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's army. In 1803, the Papal States started using a white merchant flag with the Papal coat of arms in the centre. This flag was made official on 7 June 1815. On 17 September 1825, it was replaced with a yellow and white flag which took its colours from the materials of the two keys (yellow for gold, white for silver). These colors were probably taken from the 1808 flag of the Palatine guard. This was the first bicolour used by the Papal States and the ancestor of the modern flag of Vatican City. The merchant flag also served as a state flag on land. Starting in 1831, the papal infantry flew square yellow and white flags. At first, they were diagonally divided, but after 1849 they were vertically divided like the merchant flag. The last infantry colour, adopted in 1862, was a plain square white and yellow flag. On 8 February 1849, while Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

was in exile in

Gaeta Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played ...

, a

was declared. The new government's flag was the Italian tricolor with the motto "Dio e Popolo" on the central stripe. The papal government and its flags were restored on 2 July 1849. On 20 September 1870, the Papal States were conquered by Italy. After the

was signed in 1929, papal authorities decided to use the 1825–1870 merchant flag as the state flag of the soon to be independent Vatican City state. The treaty came into effect on 7 June 1929.

Previous versions

File:Flag of the Papal States (pre 1808).svg, Flag of the Papal States until 1808 File:Flag of the Papal States (1803-1825).svg, Flag of the Papal States between 1803 and 1825 File:Flag of the Papal States (1825-1870).svg, Flag of the Papal States in periods 1825–1849 and 1849–1870 File:Flag of the Papal States (1808-1870).svg, Flag of the Papal States used between 1862 and 1870 File:Papal proto-national flag.svg, Flag of the Papal States that flew over Porta Pia during the fall of Rome in 1870 File:Flag of Vatican City - 1929 Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, p. 35 (cleaned up).png, Flag of Vatican City from 1929 to 2001 as depicted in the 1929 Fundamental Law of the Vatican City State File:Flag of Vatican City (1929–2001).svg, Flag of Vatican City from 1929 to 2001 File:Flag of the Vatican City (2001–2023).svg, Flag of Vatican City from 2001 to 2023

Raising of the flag at the United Nations

Since September 2015, the

United Nations headquarters The headquarters of the United Nations (UN) is on of grounds in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It borders First Avenue (Manhattan), First Avenue to the west, 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd ...

has begun displaying the flags of UN observer states alongside the 193 member state flags. On 25 September 2015, the flag of the Holy See was raised for the first time at the UN headquarters.

Incorrect version

An incorrect version of the flag has been commonly used. In this version, the visible inner lining of the

is colored red instead of white, and a different shade of yellow or gold is used in some portions of the coat of arms. This version has been said to be due to a depiction of the Vatican flag used on

Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons, or simply Commons, is a wiki-based Digital library, media repository of Open content, free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used ...

between 2006 and 2007 and between 2017 and 2022, widespread on the Internet, but it pre-dates Commons.

Controversies

During Pope Francis's 2018 visit to Ireland, the

South Dublin County Council South Dublin County Council () is the local authority of the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 to succeed the former Dublin County Council before its abolitio ...

refused to fly the Vatican flag; a local

petrol station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

began to fly the flag in response. A

Police Scotland Police Scotland (), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist services of the Scottis ...

list of flags which could be a criminal offence to display "in a threatening manner" included the Vatican flag;

sectarianism Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or Religious violence, religious conflicts between groups. Others conceiv ...

is common in Scotland, especially in Glasgow, and the Vatican flag could supposedly be flown as a sign of Catholic identity to intimidate

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

neighbours.

References

External links

* [https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/insigne/sp_ss_scv_stemma-bandiera-sigillo_en.html#Flag%20of%20the%20Vatican%20City%20State Holy See Press Office – Flag of the State of Vatican City]
2023 Fundamental Law of Vatican City State – description and image of the flag
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vatican City, Flag of the Flags introduced in 1929 Flag

National flags Religious flags Religion and politics Wikipedia controversies