Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “The Vatican State, contains treasures of faith, of history and of art, is custodian to a precious heritage for all humanity. From within it, where the Pope lives near the tomb of St. Peter, an incessant message rises of genuine social progress, of hope, of reconciliation and of peace.” Now, this our State, after a solemn commemoration of the 80th anniversary of its founding, goes on its way with ever greater apostolic zeal. May Vatican City become a real 'city on a hill,' resplendent thanks to the conviction and generous dedication of those who work to serve the ecclesial mission of the Successor of Peter.” This was what the Holy Father Benedict XVI told participants in the Study Session held in honor of the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Vatican City State, whom he received in an audience on February 14.
Expressing his delight for the celebrations and the various commemorative acts that have taken place, which help to “penetrate into the history and physiognomy of the “Civitas Vaticana, and make it more widely known,” the Pope highlighted that “for the person who works on a daily basis for the Holy See or lives in the City, they may take it for granted that within Rome there is a little sovereign state, however perhaps not all are aware of the fact that this is thanks to a quite turbulent historical process which led to its formation, on motives of faith ideals and farsighted awareness of the finality it was designed to meet.”
Recalling February 11, 1929, and “he who was the main architect and protagonist in the Lateran Pacts,” Pope Pius XI, the Pope pointed out that “with his farsightedness and invincible will, he was the true founder and first builder in the Vatican City State. As for the rest, the historical studies which continue underway allow us to heighten our perception of the greatness of Pope Pius XI, who guided the Church in the difficult years between the two world wars.” Benedict XVI then mentioned the strong impulse that Pius XI gave to ecclesial activity in its many dimensions. During his pontificate as well, “he had to confront the difficulties and persecutions that the Church suffered in countries like Mexico and Spain, and with the struggle against totalitarianisms – national socialism and fascism – strong and influential at that time. In Germany, his great Encyclical Mit brennender Sorge, as a strong sign against Nazism, is unforgettable.
The Vatican City State “was also considered by Pius XI as an instrument to guarantee the necessary independence from all human authority, to give the Church and her supreme Pastor the possibility to fully comply with the mandate received from Christ the Lord. The usefulness and benefit of this small but complete reality for the Holy See, for the Church, as well as for Rome and the whole world, was seen just 10 years later, when World War II broke out, a war whose violence and sufferings reached the doors of the Vatican.”
In these 80 years of life, “the Vatican State has demonstrated that it is a flexible instrument and that it has always measured up to the needs posed and that continue to be posed both in the mission of the Pope and the needs of the Church, as well as the ever changing conditions of society.” The Pope thus expressed his gratitude to the Lord, “who guides the fortunes of his Church in the often turbulent vicissitudes of the sea of history, and assists his Vicar on earth in carrying out his office of Christianae religionis summus Antistes.” He also thanked “all those who in the past have been and are today protagonists of the life of Vatican City State,” and encouraged those who work in various offices and Vatican services “to carry out their tasks with honesty and professional competence, but also with an ever more lively awareness that their work constitutes a precious service to the cause of the Kingdom of God.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 16/2/2009)
