Lights, music and art to announce the birth of Jesus

Christmas music, melodies and lights brightened the darkness of the night. The much-anticipated moment has arrived, when people can admire the nativity scene and see the Christmas tree lights in Saint Peter’s Square. Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga and Sr. Raffaella Petrini, respectively, President and Secretary General, of the Governorate of Vatican City State, inaugurated the nativity scene from Grado and lit the 29-metre red fir Christmas tree, from Ledro, during a ceremony on Saturday evening, 7 December before a crowd of people.

In Christ, the Bright Morning Star

 Epiphany is a celebration for adults and children, alike. On Saturday afternoon, 4 January, Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, celebrated Holy Mass in the Church of Maria, Madre della Famiglia (Mary, Mother of the Family), to come together and share the joy of the arrival of the Magi with their gifts. Fr. Franco Fontana, Chaplain of the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services and of the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage, concelebrated the celebration, along with the Cardinal. Among those present, were Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate, Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, Deputy Secretary General, and Mr. Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti and Mr.  Davide Giulietti, respectively, Director and Deputy Director, of the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services.

Courage, perseverance and vigilance

Saint Barbara, a martyr, is not only the protector of the Fire Brigade but also a model to be emulated for her virtues and her example of faith. This was emphasized by Father Franco Fontana, chaplain of the Directorate of Security Services and Civil Protection and of the Vatican Museums, during the Mass celebrated in the Church of San Pellegrino in the Vatican on Thursday morning, December 4, on the Saint’s feast day.

Founder of the Big Bang Theory

“Why Do We Look Up?: An Astronomer's Reflection on the Universe and the Call to Study It”, is the title of a lecture by Jesuit Brother, Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory, held on Wednesday, 20 November, at the Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry at St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge.

“Music at the Museums” for the 2025 Jubilee Year

“Music at the Museums”, a series of concerts organized by the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage, will begin on 27 February and continue until 22 November. Concerts will be held at the Vatican Museums and at the Castel Gandolfo Museum Complex.

Two young students begin their internship

On 10 September, two young students from Villanova University, Pennsylvania, began an internship at the Internet Service Provider Office of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems and at the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage.

The new website www.villepontificie.va is online today.

As a further step in the field of communication and information, the Pontifical Villas has launched its first ever website. The opening of the Instagram profile on April 9^th ​​also fits into this context.

In the beginning, it was called “Annona e Grascia”, and it functioned as a tribunal within the papal administration, responsible for overseeing matters related to food supplies.
On January 22, 1588, Pope Sixtus V, through the Bull Immensa Aeterni Dei, established fifteen permanent Congregations—some newly created, others confirmed or reformed. One of these was the Congregation for the Abundance of the Papal States (Pro ubertate annonae Status Ecclesiastici). It consisted of five Cardinals and was tasked with ensuring the provisioning of foodstuffs.

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 masterwork of art and craftsmanship

The floral emblem of Pope Leo XIV has been completed in the Vatican Gardens, located on the upward slope from the apse of St. Peter's Basilica, right in front of the Governorate building.

Hundreds of colored plants, like so many mosaic pieces, have made a beautiful work of floral art possible. Like the previous emblems, it will be admired every year by thousands of people from an exceptional observation point: the top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.

Floral decoration on the Holy Door

The Garden and Environment Service of the Governorate of Vatican City State has prepared and installed the floral decoration that adorns the Holy Door. With great skill and passion, eight members of staff decorated the famous Door, through which millions of pilgrims will walk, in the course of the Holy Year.

The Bodies of Government have donated cymbals and a bass drum to the Musical Band of the Gendarmerie Corps as a token of recognition for their generous dedication to spreading the beauty of music throughout the world.

The Gendarmerie Band will conclude the initiative “Sacrae Militiae Sonus – The Sound of the Sacred Militias” with a concert on Friday, December 5, at 7:30 PM, in the Basilica of San Vitale al Quirinale, in the heart of Rome.

A common journey

“Forty-one years of history of the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums are the result of a common journey”, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, General Secretary of the Governorate of Vatican City State, said in her greeting to the annual meeting of the Chapters of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums held at the Taylor Education Center in New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, 22 September, the second to last day of her visit to the United States of America.

A carpet of flowers for St. Peter's Square 

During Holy Week, a considerable commitment is undertaken to decorate St. Peter's Square with flowers and plants. The Garden and Environmental Service of the Governorate of the Vatican City State is responsible for this, with the collaboration of Dutch master florists. And it is precisely from Holland, as well as from Italy, that many of the flowers originate that will adorn the Square during the most important liturgical time of the year, Easter. Rafael Tornini, head of the Garden and Environment Service, describes this in an interview on www.vaticanstate.va.

On Thursday morning, 27 February, the Governorate of Vatican City State signed an important Protocol of Cooperation with the Customs and Monopolies Agency of the Italian Republic at the Agency's headquarters in Piazza Mastai, Rome. The agreement, which is aimed at revitalizing customs cooperation, was signed by Mr. Roberto Alesse, Director of the Customs and Monopolies Agency, and by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate.

The Governorate of Vatican City State is committed to the promotion of institutional communication.

The launch of the new website,www.vaticanstate.va, and the creation of an online quarterly magazine, titled, “From the heart of the State – The Governorate shares its news”, are part of this commitment.

In its ongoing effort to update and digitize its communication, the Governorate of Vatican City State has launched a YouTube channel: Governatorato_SCV.

As part of its commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible innovation, starting July, for the first time, the Governorate will offer its employees a medium and long term vehicle leasing service.

The institutional website, www.vaticanstate.va , which has been available in Italian, Spanish and English, as of 13 September, has been expanded to include a version in French.