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From October 23 to November 4, 2025 the Vatican Museums will offer visitors the unique opportunity to admire, within the Sistine Chapel, two magnificent tapestries by Raphael. They are displayed in honor of King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s visit to the Vatican, especially for their united ecumenical prayer for the care of Creation, presided over by Pope Leo XIV.
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.
Celebrating Saint Barbara, a martyr who offered her life for Christ, is an opportunity to remember how much sacrifice is involved in the mission of firefighters. Under the protection of their Patroness, firefighters contribute to the Advent of the Kingdom of God, with their activities, their professionalism and their dedication to others, Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, highlighted during Holy Mass in the Church of Maria, Madre della Famiglia (Mary, Mother of the Family), on Sunday morning, 22 December. The Feast of Saint Barbara was also an opportunity for the families of firefighters to get together and enjoy a moment of refreshment together, three days before the Solemnity of Christmas. The Mass was attended by Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate, Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti and Mr. Davide Giulietti, respectively, Director and Deputy Director of the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services, Mr. Paolo De Angelis, Coordinator of the Fire Brigade and Fr. Franco Fontana, Chaplain of the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services and of the Vatican Museums.
It was Thursday, February 11, 1858, when the Virgin Mary appeared to fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous at the Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes. It was the first of eighteen apparitions.
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you; carefully consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:7). Deep and heartfelt are the sentiments of gratitude for the late Pope Francis, who returned to the House of the Father on the morning of Monday, April 21, 2025, at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
“Today is the day of the Prayer of Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii. Our Mother Mary always wants to walk at our side, to remain close to us, to help us with her intercession and her love. So I would like to pray together with you. Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole Church, for peace in the world, and let us ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace: Hail Mary...”
As part of its development programme for sustainable mobility, launched in November of last year and called “Ecological Conversion 2030, the Governorate of Vatican City State is continuing to gradually replace the State’s vehicles with electrical vehicles, in an effort to achieve zero impact by 2030.
The Christmas atmosphere has also reached the Pontifical Palace of Castel Gandolfo, brightening it up with the climate of the season’s festivities. as indicated by a series of events that took place on Tuesday morning, 10 December, including the inauguration of a nativity scene and the lighting of a Christmas tree.
From the heart of the state - The Governorate is told: it is the title of the quarterly online periodical, promoted and published by the Governatorate of the Vatican City State.
Friday, April 24 was a special day for 11 children from the “San Francesco e Santa Chiara” nursery school within the Vatican City, as they took part in their first educational field trip outside the school facility. It was a meaningful experience designed to offer the youngest children an opportunity for growth, socialization, and outdoor fun.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was, “in the history of the Church, one of the composers who most contributed to the promotion of sacred music,” for “the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful,” as written by Saint Pius X in the Motu Proprio Inter plurimas pastoralis officii sollicitudines, dated November 22, 1903, in the context of the momentous yet hopeful era of the Counter-Reformation.
The President of the Governorate, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, participated in the annual Board meeting of the Florida Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, which took place on Friday, April 10, in Palm Beach, Florida.
Assisi, 14 May 2026 – The numismatic triptych dedicated to the Canticle of the Creatures was presented today in the Cimabue Hall of the “Colle del Paradiso” Conference Center within the monumental complex of the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis in Assisi. The project was created through a collaboration between Italy, the Vatican, and San Marino as part of the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. Included in the official calendar of Franciscan celebrations, the initiative represents a meeting point between art, spirituality, and numismatics in the symbolic place of the life and message of the Saint of Assisi.
Fourteen electric vehicles, including 4 Melex passenger vehicles for the Gendarmerie and 10 Goupil utility vehicles for the working needs of the Vatican City State have joined the car park inventory. Newly supplied by the company Exelentia (Italian Mobility Factory), the additions facilitate the Governorate’s continuing implementation of its sustainable mobility development program launched in November 2023 with the title “Ecological Conversion 2030”. In addition, Exelentia will donate two electric vehicles appropriately modified for papal needs.
The Governorate, continuing its commitment to the implementation of the “Ecological Conversion 2030” project—launched following the commitments undertaken upon the accession of the Vatican City State to the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—has activated the second phase of the medium and long-term vehicle rental program. For the time being the car rental service is reserved for employees of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
Pope Leo XIV will move to the summer Papal residence in Castel Gandolfo for a period of rest, as announced by the Prefecture of the Papal Household.
Pope Leo arrived at the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo on the afternoon of Sunday, July 5, for the traditional period of respite from Rome’s warmest temperatures. He will remain there until Monday, July 27. Throughout the Sundays of July, the Holy Father will continue to recite the Angelus publicly in the Piazza della Libertà in Castel Gandolfo for the pilgrims gathered there.
On Saturday, August 2, Pope Leo XIV received in audience, in a foyer of the Paul VI Audience Hall, a select group representing the Vatican Museums. During the meeting, a painting depicting Saint Augustine and an angel, the work of an anonymous Roman artist of the 18th century, was presented and entrusted to the Pope.
“The financial reform that Pope Benedict began and that Pope Francis continued with dedication has brought great changes to the structures and procedures of the Holy See and Vatican City State”, said Sister Raffaella Petrini, Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist and General Secretary of Vatican City State, in her address to participants in a workshop on “Transparency and Accountability in the Catholic Church: A Practical Journey”. The meeting was held on Wednesday morning, 19 June, in the Old Synod Hall in the Vatican.
The exhibition’s 24 photographs portrayed the contrast between the beauty of Creation and the damages caused by climate change to nature and to peoples throughout the world. Curated by Lia and Marianna Beltrami in cooperation with the Dicastery for Communication, the Dicastery for Integral Human Development and the Laudato Si’ Centre for Higher Education, the photographs, which were exhibited in the Charlemagne Wing of Saint Peter’s Square, were part of the project, “Emotions to Generate Change”. The exhibition was open to the public from 7 to 24 May.
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