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Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga and Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President and Secretary General of the Governorate, respectively, met with a high-level delegation of the Customs and Monopolies Agency, led by the Director of the Agency, Councillor Roberto Alesse, on Wednesday morning, 30 October, at the Palace of the Governorate. Among the themes addressed during the meeting, were cooperation and future projects to maximize efficiency and quick customs checks, aimed at ensuring the correct transit of goods and the security of citizens, in view of the approaching Jubilee year.
A room at the offices of the Republic of Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) has been dedicated to Blessed Carlo Acutis. Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, participated in the dedication ceremony, held on Monday afternoon, 4 November, at the Agency’s headquarters in Rome.
Placing the Human Person at the Center: Towards an Economy of Care and Dignity
In recent decades, two epochal events—the global financial crisis in 2008 and the Covid-19 pandemic—have profoundly shaken the foundations of traditional economic models, clearly exposing their structural limitations. In this context, a reflection has gained renewed momentum across academic, political, and religious spheres: the urgent need to rethink the economy starting from the centrality of the human person, with his or her inviolable dignity and inherent fragility.
“Tonight too, we are gathered in prayer for the Holy Father and his intentions, in particular for peace and good in the world and for the sanctification of the Church”, said Archbishop Emilio Nappa, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, as he presided over the Rosary for Pope Francis in Saint Peter’s Square, on Saturday morning, 15 March.
Sometimes words alone are not enough to express what one feels within, when one’s service to the Pope, to the Hoy See and to the Governorate ends, after 53 years. The farewell becomes imbued with feelings, memories and affection, as occurred during the farewell ceremony of Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate, until 28 February. Having completed his 80th birthday, he wished to step down by celebrating Holy Mass on Monday morning, 3 March, in the Church of Mary, Mother of the Family.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The official inauguration of the new photovoltaic system in the Cortile delle Corazze at the entrance of the Vatican Museums,marks a step forward on the journey towards obtaining energy from renewable resources, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and to respect our Common Home.
The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24) was inaugurated on Tuesday morning, 15 October, at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi, India, and will conclude on 24 October. A Vatican Delegation, led by Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate, is participating in the Assembly.
Suor Raffaella Petrini, Segretario Generale del Governatorato dello Stato della Città del Vaticano, ha ricevuto la laurea honoris causa in scienze umane della Seton Hall University. La consegna ufficiale si è svolta durante la 168ªcerimonia del conferimento della laurea, martedì 21 maggio, nel Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (Stati Uniti d'America).
The appointment will be effective on 1 March.
Sr. Petrini’s appointment represents continuity, as she has been serving as Secretary General of the Governorate since 4 November 2021. Prior to that, she had served the Holy See as an Official of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The Synod is “an experience of listening and dialogue among different perspectives and attitudes”. The Synod was talked about in Houston too, during an address by the Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, to a conference aimed at business leaders, promoted by the Lumen Institute, held on Saturday morning, 26 October.
Twenty-three students from Spain, studying for the 2025 Master's Degree, organized by the Cadena de Ondas Populares Españolas, better known as Radio COPE, met with Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate on Friday morning, 24 January, at the Palace of the Governorate.
Christmas is always an opportunity to gather together in friendship and communion, as it is also for those who are united in their vocation and mission to preserve the artistic, historical and cultural heritage of the Vatican Museums in order to pass it on to the next generations.
Catholic higher education plays “a very important role”, because the Catholic Church “is still a credible Institution, which people trust because of her ability to be in favour of the human person and to be a mediator in seeking solutions to the more delicate problems in society and in our common life”, said Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, during her address at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), on Sunday morning, 2 February, at the Grand Hyatt Washington in the capital of the United States of America.
Sister Raffaella Petrini, General Secretary of the Governorate of Vatican City State, has received an honorary degree in human sciences from Seton Hall University. The official ceremony took place during the 168th Commencement ceremony on Tuesday, 21 May, in the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA.
The Secretary General of the Governorate, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, has attended the 142nd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus, held in Québec City, Canada, from 6 to 8 August.
Among the many activities detailed in his annual report at the Convention, the Supreme Knight, Patrick E. Kelly, mentioned the Knights Of Columbus’ funding for the restoration of the bronze Baldachin in Saint Peter’s Basilica. The Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage cooperates with the Fabric of Saint Peter in all diagnostic examinations and in the development of methods of intervention.
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