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“Bellini and Sodoma. Passion of Christ” is the theme of an exhibition that will be inaugurated on Saturday afternoon, 5 April, in Castel Gandolfo’s Apostolic Palace. The exhibition includes, Lamentation over the Dead Christ, by Giovanni Bellini, from the Vatican Pinacoteca, and the Dead Christ(supported by angels), by Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, known as il Sodoma, on loan from the Venerable Archconfraternity of Santa Maria dell’Orto in Rome.
On Saturday, November 16, in the Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, the President of the Governorate, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, delivered The Mary Field and Vincent DeP Goubeau Lecture on Women's Role in the Church & Society regarding the many complementary dimensions of exercising authority, service and the practice of care.
With little more than a month to go to the opening of Jubilee 2025, the Directorate of Health and Hygiene is preparing to receive the influx of pilgrims, by maximizing its capacity to intervene and assist the many faithful who will pass through the Holy Door. As part of these preparations, two new ambulances have been donated to the Directorate, by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and by the Futuro Salute ETS Per Nuovi Modelli di Welfare Foundation.
The Vatican City State presents the first two numismatic issues of the year 2025, each of which, in its own way, bears witness to significant moments in the life and spiritual journey of the Church: the tribute to a Pope who has only recently completed his earthly pilgrimage, and the celebration of a saintly Pontiff who marked an era.
The Postal and Philatelic Service of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate has created two special postmarks: one to mark the Apostolic Journey of Pope Leo XIV to Spain, taking place from 6 to 12 June, and the other for the Centenary of the Coronation of the Virgin of the Sagrario of Toledo.
The President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, on Friday morning, December 12, presented two pontifical honors to two officials of the Vatican Museums who have reached retirement.
The Governorate of Vatican City State has issued a stamp to commemorate the narrow escape of a conflict between Argentina and Chile over the sovereignty of islands in the southernmost tip of South America, which was resolved thanks to the mediation of the Holy See.
The stamp recalls the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Argentina and Chile, on 29 November 1984, in Vatican City, and pays homage to the unforgettable masterpiece in diplomacy achieved by Cardinal Antonio Samorè, personal envoy of John Paul II to the mediation.
For the first time, Vatican City has won the Best Gold Coin award in the prestigious international Coin of the Year (COTY) competition. The winning coin is the 50-euro gold issue, released by the Governorate in 2024 on the theme “War and Peace.”
The artwork is by Chiara Principe, a young artist from Rome who for years has created images for the Governorate's Vatican numismatic collections.
Vatican City, 21 April 2026 – Starting today, students of the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS) have the opportunity to submit creative projects to the Governorate for the production of coins and stamps issued by the Vatican City State.
Integral human development “calls forth an ethically responsible use of technology”. If this is true for relatively simple technologies, “it is even more necessary in relation to the use of artificial intelligence, which, in the words of Pope Francis, ‘represents a true cognitive-industrial revolution’”, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate, highlighted in her address at the ITU Global Standard Symposium (GSS-24). Sr. Petrini, who heads the Vatican Delegation, was speaking to the High Level Segment on the theme “ Catalyzing Change: Industry & Ministerial Leaders Crafting the Future of Innovation”. The global conference took place on 14 October in New Delhi, India, ahead of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24) which will be held from 15-20 October.
The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24) has concluded, with a record number of attendance: 3,700 delegates from 160 countries. The last session took place in India’s capital city, New Delhi, on Thursday, 24 October, and was attended by a Vatican Delegation, led by Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State. Members of the Vatican Delegation included, Mr. Antonino Intersimone and Mr. Salimbeni, respectively, Director and Deputy Director of the Governorate’s Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems, and Mr. Sergio Salvatori, technical official of the Technological Direction of the Dicastery for Communication.
On Monday 28 April the Vatican City’s Postal and Philately Service of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems, released the series of postage stamps commemorating the Sede Vacante MMXXV, valid for postal correspondence mailed from the Vatican City.
The following were among the first visitors to the Vatican Museums' new exhibition entitled, “The Mantegna of Pompei”, which opened to the public on Thursday, 20 March: Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, accompanied by Secretaries General, Archbishop Emilio Nappa and Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, Monsignor Tommaso Caputo, Archbishop Prelate of Pompeii and Pontifical Delegate of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, Angelo Scelzo, former Deputy Director of the Press office of the Holy See and Director of Il Rosario e la Nuova Pompei, Ms. Barbara Jatta, Director of Museums and Cultural Heritage, and Ms. Alfonsina Russo, Director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum.
Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, took part in the Board meeting of the Vatican Observatory Foundation (VOF), held on Saturday, March 21, in Tucson, Arizona, United States of America.
With the arrival of twenty-four young astronomers from twenty-two countries, the new edition of the Vatican Observatory Summer School (VOSS) officially began on June 1, 2025, hosted as usual in the evocative location of the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo. This Summer School, now in its nineteenth edition since 1986, represents a high-level biennial event in the international panorama of astronomical education.
On January 15–16, 2026, Davide Giordano from the Internet Provider Service of the Vatican City’s Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems and a member of the Governorate’s Commission on Artificial Intelligence, took part in the conference “AI as Catalyst – Reimagining Medical Education and Workforce Development,” held at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in Boston.
Holy Christmas MMXXV
On the occasion of the 2025 Christmas festivities and the closing of the Jubilee Year, the Postal and Philatelic Service of the Governorate of the Vatican City State has issued the customary philatelic series dedicated to the Nativity.
One hundred and sixty years since the foundation of the Italian Red Cross in Milan on 15 June 1864, four States will jointly issue a commemorative stamp: the Postal Administrations of Vatican City State, Italy, San Marino and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
The Postal and Philately Service of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate of the Vatican City State has produced a commemorative philatelic series, a folder, a commemorative envelope, and a special postmark dedicated to the 325th anniversary of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, a historic institution of the Holy See founded in 1701 with the mission of training diplomats destined to serve the Catholic Church throughout the world.
Recently, the Observatory successfully completed the robotization and automation of its Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT), located on Mt. Graham in Arizona (USA). This was accomplished thanks to the generosity of the Thomas Lord Charitable Trust. It means, among other things, that astronomers can use the telescope remotely, without having to be up on the mountain. Vatican Observatory (VO) astronomers are now utilizing its exciting capabilities.
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