Symbol of Resilience and Longevity

The Ginkgo Biloba survives in polluted urban environments, tolerates various soil types, and resists diseases and parasites. In many Asian cultures, it is a symbol of longevity. The tree offers numerous benefits, including improving urban air quality and creating shaded, cooling areas during the warm seasons. A specimen of this species was planted on March 6 in the Vatican Gardens.

Sister Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, on Wednesday morning, March 4, received Doris Schmidauer, wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, on a courtesy visit.

A conscientious  approach to the technology that will transform our future

On 2 March 2026, in the San Pius X Hall on Via della Conciliazione in Rome, at the headquarters of the Labor Office of the Apostolic See (ULSA), a highly significant seminar on Artificial Intelligence was held. The event, organized by the Secretariat for the Economy in collaboration with ULSA, brought together experts of national and international standing to address one of the most pressing issues of our time: the potential and the challenges of AI in the cultural, technical, and ethical context.

Jim and Lia Farley donated a 2026 Ford Explorer Platinum AWD hybrid car to Pope Leo XIV. The Explorer is produced at Chicago Assembly Plant – the historic factory, opened in 1924 by Henry Ford, in the city where the Pope was born.

In the final days of February, a follow-up meeting took place between Professors Daniel Joyce and Frank Klassner of Villanova University in Pennsylvania and the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate. The meeting forms part of an educational endeavor established in recent years and represents a continuation of a previous visit by the Directorate’s delegation—Davide Giordano and Monica Giuliano—to the American university in January 2026.

The Cathedral of Kyiv, a symbol of faith amid trials

The 12th anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral of the Greek-Catholic Church in Kyiv, the 20th anniversary of the return of the See of the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from Lviv to Kyiv, and the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Metropolitanate of Kyiv: these are the three anniversaries that the Vatican Postal and Philately Service of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems celebrates with the issuance of a postage stamp and special “die emissionis” postmark, an illustrative folder, and a commemorative envelope.

The contribution of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Musems

With great expectation and excitement, and following the installation of scaffolding in the Sistine Chapel, the extraordinary maintenance of Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment was begun during the final weeks of February 2026.

Extraordinary maintenance has commenced on Michelangelo’s monumental fresco The Last Judgment painted on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, following the completion of the scaffolding. The intervention has been made possible thanks to the generous contribution of the Florida Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums.

The Postal and Philatelic Service of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate of Vatican City State announces a new series of philatelic issues to be released on 26 February 2026. The six issues celebrate various anniversaries and special occasions related to the Pontiffs, international relations and Easter.