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From September 18 to 23, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate, is in New Orleans, USA, to participate in the meeting of the leaders of the Chapters of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums.
In 1867, in the middle of August, an epidemic of cholera hit the Castelli Romani. Albano Laziale’s population was almost decimated, with an enormous mortality rate, a "cemetery of cholera and the plague".
Pope Leo XIV visited the Nativity Scene from the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore–Sarno, set up in St. Peter’s Square for the 2025 Christmas season. On Wednesday afternoon, 31 December 2025, he visited the crèche after presiding in the Vatican Basilica over First Vespers for the Solemnity of Mary, Most Holy Mother of God, followed by the singing of the traditional Te Deum hymn of thanksgiving at the end of the year.
In the Conference Hall of the prestigiousVatican Museums, on the occasion of World Children’s Day, Thursday, November 20, the Seminar on the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons was held. The event was organized by the Office of Labor of the Apostolic See (ULSA), in cooperation with the Accompaniment Service of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and was addressed to the staff of the Roman Curia, institutions connected with the Holy See, and the Governorate itself.
A special place, where the Eucharist is celebrated while awaiting Easter: the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception of the Poor Clares of Albano. A community that, given its location within the Pontifical Villas, has always had a special bond with the Governorate and its departments. The nuns of Saint Clare have, in fact, as a special mission, that of praying for the Pope, the Church and for Vatican City.
It was a visit marked by friendship, affection, inclusion, and a sense of family when Pope Leo XIV met with the participants of the “Estate Ragazzi” [summer day camp for kids] program at the Vatican on the morning of Thursday, July 3, in the Paul VI Hall.
A sign of filial affection for Pope Leo XIV and of the prayers that the Polish people offer to the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Successor of Peter, accompanying him in his ministry at the service of the universal Church. This is the significance of the new Marian mosaic installed on Tuesday morning, 30 June, in the Vatican Gardens.
The Virgin most beloved by the Spanish people, she who most influenced the evangelization of the Iberian Peninsula - appearing to the Apostle James in the year 40 A.D. - now has her image reproduced on the wall of the Bastione di Maestro in the Vatican Gardens. It was Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President emeritus of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, who presided over the inauguration and blessing of the new ceramic panel on Wednesday morning, September 24.
Prayer becomes mission and prophecy: “There must no longer be the weeping of innocents in our cities; no one should have to flee their home because of the threat of bombs; the longing for power and the violence of words must give way to a thirst for justice and truth. But everyone can and must do their part, starting with small yet important actions, refraining from all verbal or physical violence, in everyday life and also on social media.”
The Church and the people of Haiti have expressed their deep bond with the See of Peter by placing an image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Patroness of the Republic of Haiti, in the Vatican Gardens.
A new Marian mosaic has been inaugurated and blessed in the Vatican Gardens. It is the work dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, Patroness of Slovakia. The ceremony took place on Friady morning, , in the presence of the President of the Slovak Republic, H.E. Mr. Peter Pellegrini.
The Postal and Philately Service (a member of PostEurop since 2012) of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate took part in the 41st General Assembly of PostEurop, with a delegation composed of the Head of Service, Rev. Felice Bruno, and the Service official, Vincenzo Marrese. The meeting took place from October 7 to 9 in Tirana, Albania.
Il Cardinale Pietro Parolin, Segretario di Stato, ha benedetto e inaugurato, venerdì mattina, 14 giugno, la Biblioteca della Terza Loggia del Palazzo Apostolico dopo i lavori di ristrutturazione a cura delle Direzioni delle Infrastrutture e Servizi, delle Telecomunicazioni e dei Sistemi Informatici e in collaborazione con quella dei Musei e dei Beni Culturali del Governatorato.
“These are works by the great Cretan master El Greco, an unconventional, irregular and pioneering artist who, from his native Candia—where he trained as an icon painter within the Byzantine tradition—first moved to Venice, where he absorbed the light and color of the painting of Titian and Tintoretto, and then to Rome, where he was called to confront the great masters Raphael and Michelangelo, whom he nevertheless struggled to appreciate.”
The close bond between the See of Peter and Argentina was renewed with the placement in the Vatican Gardens of a mosaic of Our Lady of Luján, Patroness of the South American nation. The solemn blessing and inauguration of the image took place on the morning of Tuesday, September 9, in the presence of Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, Leonardo Sandri, Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals and Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President Emeritus of the Governorate of Vatican City State, Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Monsignors Lucio Adrián Ruiz, Secretary of the Dicastery of Communications and Guillermo Javier Karcher, Official of the Secretariat of State, Sister Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate, H.E. Luis Pablo María Beltramino, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to the Holy See, bishops, priests, religious men and women, and representatives of the Argentine community residing in Rome.
The majestic Christmas tree was illuminated and the artistic Nativity scene was unveiled to the sound of traditional music and carols. The moment has arrived when the faithful, pilgrims and visitors can admire the Christmas installations in St. Peter’s Square.
Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga and Sr. Raffaella Petrini, respectively, President and Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will inaugurate the Nativity Scene and light the Christmas tree, that will be on display in Saint Peter’s Square throughout the Christmas season. The inauguration ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m., on 7 December.
On Thursday morning, 5 December, a mosaic depicting Christ Pantocrator, made by young people with disabilities and their teachers, was officially inaugurated in the Vatican Gardens. The impressive mosaic was the result of a collaboration with the mosaics laboratory of the Centro di Riabilitazione Ada “Ceschin Pilone” (rehabilitation centre) of the Institute of the Trinitarian Fathers of Venosa-Bernalda. Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, presided over the inauguration ceremony.
A new mobile post office has been inaugurated in Saint Peter’s Square, just a few days before the opening of the Holy Door.
The inauguration ceremony, with the symbolic handing over of the keys and the signing of the Act of Donation, took place on Thursday morning, 19 December.
Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and the General Manager of Poste Italiane, Giuseppe Lasco, cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony and signed the Act of Donation. Poste Italiane commissioned the project for the new post office to Amdl Circle and to the architect Michele De Lucchi, and then donated it to the Governorate.
Brother Thomas Binish Mulackal, of the Fatebenefratelli Order (Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God), inaugurated an over-the-counter pharmacy in the Charlemagne Wing of Saint Peter’s Square on Monday morning, 16 December. Fr. Iulian Misariu, OFM Conv., Chaplain, blessed the premises for the occasion.
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