Effective September 1, Valerio Mercuri has been appointed Deputy Director of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate of Vatican City State for a five-year term.
Archive
On Friday, August 21st a Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, at Mundelein Seminary to mark the conclusion of the spiritual retreat that initiates the new academic year of formation for seminarians. The Mass was attended by students, faculty members, and staff on the premises of the Seminary, located at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in the State of Illinois (USA). Following the celebration, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, met with the seminarians.
Heritage Under Glass: From the Papal “Stoves” to the Contemporary Greenhouses
At the heart of the Vatican Gardens, the art of protecting nature has deep roots in a centuries-old tradition. Since the eighteenth century, with the first “stufe” or stoves— early heated greenhouse like structures designed for keeping exotic plant collections — and the orangeries for citrus trees, these spaces have never been merely technical shelters. For many Pontiffs, from Clement XI to Leo XIII and Pius XI, they were genuine oases where one could stroll, even in winter, among the natural scents of what was known as the Garden of Simplicity. Over time, these buildings evolved alongside construction techniques, progressing from the earliest masonry structures to the iron-and-glass buildings of the early twentieth century, and finally to today’s ecological conversions. Today, the greenhouses continue to be the botanical heart of the Vatican State, bringing together tradition and sustainability.
The “Spirituality and Astronomy” workshop, promoted by the Vatican Observatory at its Castel Gandolfo center outside Rome, concluded on Sunday, August 30. The initiative brought together the scientific view of the universe into dialogue with the spiritual dimension. Organized by Sr. Irene Tranquillini, O.F.M.I., with the contributions of Fr. Matteo Galaverni, Fr. Gabriele Gionti, S.J., and Fr. Robert Janusz, S.J, the aim was to create a path capable of weaving together scientific rigor, theological reflection, and contemplative experience, without allowing any one of these three dimensions to overshadow each other.
Feeling part of a large community while embarking on the theme of Around the World in 80 Days, accompanied by Mr. Charlie, an eccentric inventor, together with Jeremy, his faithful assistant—half robot and half human—and Olympia, the Greek friend they met during the various stages of their extraordinary journey: this was the experience shared by hundreds of children and preteens who took part in the 2026 edition of the Vatican Summer Camp. One month after it came to an end, the time has come to take stock of the initiative.
The Last Judgment, The Creation of Adam, and Original Sin and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, works by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, the classical Roman statues of Apollo Belvedere and Augustus of Prima Porta, and Raphael’s fresco The School of Athens - these are the masterpieces from the Vatican Museums that are reproduced and displayed at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, California. The frescoes by Michelangelo and Raphael are displayed in 2-D lightboxes, while the statues are presented as 3-D holographic displays.
Pope Francis sent Vatican firefighters and gendarmes to assist the population
It was 3:36 a.m. on 24 August 2016 when a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the central Apennine mountain range, near the border between the regions of Lazio, Umbria, Marches and Abruzzo. The epicentre was located between Accumoli and Amatrice, towns that were devastated along with Arquata del Tronto.
True beauty in the signs of love
“The glorification of Mary in body and soul teaches us that our true beauty does not consist in concealing the signs of passing time, but in showing, impressed even upon our flesh, the signs of the love that never ends (cf. 1 Cor 13:8).”
Poverty lived with joy
“The acceptance of frailty as an instrument for personal sanctification and as a means through which God can act had, for Clare, a very precise name: poverty lived with joy.” With these words, Bishop Vincenzo Viva of Albano presided over the concelebrated Eucharist on the feast day of Saint Clare of Assisi on Tuesday afternoon, 11 August, at the Poor Clares’ Monastery of the Immaculate Conception, located within the territory of the Pontifical Villas in the town of Albano.
The history and practices of sustainable cultivation in the Vatican Gardens
In the Vatican Gardens, next to the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, lies a small vegetable garden whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages. It was Pope Nicholas III Orsini who, when he transferred the papal residence from the Lateran to the Vatican between 1277 and 1280, also commissioned an orchard and a proper viridarium [elegant garden], enclosed within the new walls: a productive space that also helped supply the papal kitchen.
