Written by Arnav Sampigethaya
Source: Wikipedia
Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. It’s an independent city-state, an enclave within Rome. Its area is 0.49 square kilometres which for comparison is 1/3rd the size of Greenwood High. It has a population of 825 which is smaller than our primary block. How did we get such a small country?
The popes of the Catholic church ruled a majority of modern-day Italy for about 1000 years during which time they constructed the largest church in the world, St. Peter’s Basilica. But soon the Kingdom of Italy wanted to conquer Rome and took over the area. The pope retreated into the hill where the Basilica stood, which was known as the Vatican. He refused to acknowledge the existence of Italy and spread the word to Catholics that he was being imprisoned in the Vatican.
Source: Britannica
The Italians waited for the Pope to come out of the Vatican but he never did and almost 40 years and five Popes later, Prime Minister of Italy, Benito Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty with Pope Pius XI. The treaty stated that Italy would recognize the Vatican as a sovereign state which would be under the control of the Holy See (more on that in a bit) and would pay The Pope some compensation. In return, the Pope would have to publicly acknowledge Italy’s existence and remain neutral in politics and war.
Now the Vatican is an independent country with its own police, currency and even license plates. But what makes the Vatican so interesting is its odd governance. The country is technically ruled by a King, making it an absolute monarchy, one of only 6 in the world. It also has a legislative body made up of cardinals which can be overruled for any reason by the King.
The Pope gets a special throne in St. Peter’s Basilica called the Holy See. This throne, however, is not any ordinary throne, it’s a corporate, legal entity. This throne or the power implied by it is what the Vatican belongs to according to the Lateran treaty.
The Pope is also the King of the Vatican, and the pope is democratically voted in by Bishops across the world, making the Vatican the only elected, non-hereditary absolute monarchy in the world. Passports are issued by The Holy See and The Holy See (not the Vatican) is a member of the United Nations.
There are no citizens born in the country, all of them are appointed and their citizenship is taken away if their employment or residence in the Vatican ends, which means that this bizarre country doesn’t have a permanent population.
The reason I compared the Vatican to our school is because of how similar it is to a school. A majority of the inhabitants only stay there temporarily for a couple of years, like the teachers there are some more long-term residents like the Cardinals and there is one leader, like a Principal, who is replaced every now and then. A school has its own rules, its own punishment system and its own hierarchy just like the Vatican. What makes the Vatican special is not the people inside of it, it’s the billion Catholics around the world that are under its influence.
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