Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State

Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State
Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
President	Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, L.C.
Seats	7
Elections
Voting system	Appointment by the Pope
Last election	11 July 2018[citation needed]
Meeting place
	Palace of the Governorate
Website
	Official website

The Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State (Italian: Pontificia Commissione per lo Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Pontificia Commissio pro Civitate Vaticana) is the legislative body of Vatican City.^[1] It consists of a president, who also holds the title of President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, and six other cardinals appointed by the pope for five-year terms.^[1]

The Pontifical Commission was created in 1939 by Pius XII. Laws and regulations proposed by the Commission must be submitted to the pope through the Secretariat of State prior to being made public and taking effect.^[1] Laws, regulations, and instructions enacted by the Commission are published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.^[2]

Current members[]

Current[]

Since 2021, the president and the members are:


Position	Cardinal^[3]	Country	Other positions
President	Archbishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, L.C.	Spain	President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State
Members	Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell	United States	Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life
	Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi	Italy
	Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko	Poland
	Cardinal Leonardo Sandri	Argentina	Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
	Cardinal Domenico Calcagno	Italy
	Cardinal Beniamino Stella	Italy	Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy

President[]

In addition to his legislative role, the President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, who since 1 October 2021 has been Archbishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, has been delegated executive authority for the Vatican City State as the president of the Governorate of the Vatican City State by the pope. As a senior member of the Roman Curia, the president is usually a cardinal of the Catholic Church.^[4]

During a sede vacante, the term of the president ends, as do most other offices in the Curia. However, the holder of the office prior to the death or resignation of the pope becomes a member of the Commission that handles some of the functions of the head of state until a new pope can be chosen, along with the former Cardinal Secretary of State and the Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church.^[5]

Former Governor[]

Marquis Camillo Serafini, Governor of Vatican City (1929–1952)

Former Presidents[]

Nicola Canali, 20 March 1939 – 3 August 1961
Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, 12 August 1961 – 30 April 1969
Jean-Marie Villot, 2 May 1969 – 9 March 1979
Agostino Casaroli, 28 April 1979 – 8 April 1984
Sebastiano Baggio, 8 April 1984 – 31 October 1990
Rosalio Lara, 31 October 1990 – 15 October 1997
Edmund Szoka, 15 October 1997 – 15 September 2006
Giovanni Lajolo, 15 September 2006 – 1 October 2011
Giuseppe Bertello, 1 October 2011 – 1 October 2021

Governorate of the Vatican City State[]

The President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State also serves as the head of government of Vatican City, the president of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, an office which is distinct from the former title of Governor of Vatican City.^[6] In addition to his legislative role, the President is delegated executive authority for Vatican City by the Pope.^[7]^[8] Administrations and departments of Vatican City's government, including the Corpo della Gendarmeria, the Vatican Observatory, the Vatican Museums, and the Department of Pontifical Villas, which administers Castel Gandolfo, report to the Governorate.^[9]

The functions of the Governorate include:

Legal office
Office for Personnel
Office for Civil Records
Archives
Accounting Office
Numismatic and Philatelic office
Post and Telegraph office
Shipping office
Police Department (Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City)
Tourist Information Office
Department of Museums and Galleries (Vatican Museums)
Department of Economic Services
Department of Technical Services
Vatican Observatory
Castel Gandolfo
Office for Archeological Research

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c Pope John Paul II (26 November 2000). "Fundamental Law of Vatican City State" (PDF). Vatican City State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
^ "Legislative and executive bodies". Vatican City State. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
^ "Organi di Governo". www.vaticanstate.va. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
^ Cardinale, Gianni (6 January 2022). "Morto il cardinale Álvarez Martínez, 96enne pastore emerito di Toledo". Avvenire (in Italian). Retrieved 8 January 2022.
^ Pope John Paul II (22 February 1996). "Universi Dominici Gregis". Retrieved 12 October 2007.
^ "Presidency of the Governorate of Vatican City State". Archived from the original on 13 March 2013.
^ Pope John Paul II (26 November 2000). "Fundamental Law of Vatican City State" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
^ "Legislative and Executive Bodies". Office of the President of Vatican City State. 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
^ "Administrations and Central Offices". Office of the President of Vatican City State. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2007.

External links[]

[fundamental-1] Pope John Paul II (26 November 2000). "Fundamental Law of Vatican City State" (PDF). Vatican City State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2007.

[bodies-2] "Legislative and executive bodies". Vatican City State. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2007.

[3] "Organi di Governo". www.vaticanstate.va. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

[4] Cardinale, Gianni (6 January 2022). "Morto il cardinale Álvarez Martínez, 96enne pastore emerito di Toledo". Avvenire (in Italian). Retrieved 8 January 2022.

[5] Pope John Paul II (22 February 1996). "Universi Dominici Gregis". Retrieved 12 October 2007.

[6] "Presidency of the Governorate of Vatican City State". Archived from the original on 13 March 2013.

[fundamental_law-7] Pope John Paul II (26 November 2000). "Fundamental Law of Vatican City State" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2007.

[8] "Legislative and Executive Bodies". Office of the President of Vatican City State. 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2007.

[9] "Administrations and Central Offices". Office of the President of Vatican City State. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2007.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

v t National unicameral legislatures
Federal	Comoros Germany Iraq Federated States of Micronesia Saint Kitts and Nevis United Arab Emirates Venezuela
Unitary	Albania Andorra Angola Armenia Azerbaijan Bangladesh Benin Botswana Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad China Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Denmark Djibouti Dominica East Timor Ecuador El Salvador Eritrea Estonia Fiji Finland Gambia Georgia Ghana Greece Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Honduras Hungary Iceland Iran Israel Kiribati North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malawi Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Mozambique Nauru New Zealand Nicaragua Niger North Macedonia Norway Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Peru Portugal Qatar Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Solomon Islands Sri Lanka Suriname Sweden Syria Tanzania Togo Tonga Tunisia Turkey Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine Vanuatu Vatican City Vietnam Yemen Zambia
Dependent and other territories	Åland Islands Anguilla Aruba Azores British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Falkland Islands Faroe Islands French Polynesia Gibraltar Greenland Guam Guernsey Hong Kong Jersey Madeira Macau Montserrat New Caledonia Pitcairn Islands Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Sint Maarten Tokelau Turks and Caicos Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna
Non-UN states	Abkhazia Artsakh Cook Islands Kosovo Niue Northern Cyprus Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic South Ossetia Taiwan Transnistria
Historical	Confederate States (1861–1862) Czechoslovakia (1948–1969) Irish Republic (1919–1922) Norfolk Island Scotland Sicily Sikkim (1953–1975) South African Republic (1857–1902)
Related	Bicameralism Tricameralism Multicameralism List of legislatures by country
National bicameral legislatures National lower houses National upper houses