VATICAN CITY STATE CELEBRATES 80 YEARS

On February 11th, 1929, an historic treaty was signed between the Italian Government and the Vatican re-establishing the political power and diplomatic standing of the Catholic Church, which had been lost when Italy seized Rome, the last of the Papal States, on September 20th, 1870.

Stamp set issued for the 2009 celebration of the 80th anniversary of the birth of the Vatican State.

Italy and the Roman Catholic Church have healed wounds!

November 15, 2002

Excerpt from an article by NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press:

ROME--Pope John Paul II made a historic speech to Italy's parliament Thursday, urging Italians to work for world peace, uphold their Christian values and have more babies.

The visit--the first time a pope has appeared before the Italian parliament--underscored the warmth that the country feels for the Polish-born John Paul, the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years.

It also showed Italy and the Roman Catholic Church have healed wounds that a century ago prompted popes to call themselves "prisoners" of the Vatican rather than accept Italy's government as legitimate.

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VATICAN AND ITALY SIGN PACT RECREATING A PAPAL STATE;
60 YEARS OF ENMITY ENDED; THRONGS CHEER IN STREETS
Acclaim Gasparri and Mussolini, Signers of Three Agreements.

By ARNALDO CORTESI.
Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES

ROME, Feb. 11.--The Pope is again an independent sovereign ruler, as he was throughout the Middle Ages, though his temporal realm, established today, is the most microscopic independent State in the world, and probably the smallest in all history. — THE NEW YORK TIMES, Tuesday, February 12, 1929.

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Benito Mussolini reads his credentials prior to signing the Lateran Treaty on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III. Cardinal Gasparri (seated), signed on behalf of Pope Pius XI.

Mussolini signs the Lateran Pact of 1929, which brought into being the Vatican City State.	Cardinal Gasparri signs the Lateran Concordat as Mussolini looks on.

The seals and signatures of Benito Mussolini and Cardinal Gasparri.

Postcard commemorating the Lateran Pact

For 59 years the Pope was a virtual prisoner in the Vatican, never leaving it until the pact was signed, resolving the "Roman question". Known as the Lateran Treaty or Lateran Concordat of 1929, this was the momentous event prophesied in the book of Revelation:

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. Newspapers at the time even proclaimed the "wound" to the Vatican as "healed". Here on the left is an article from the February 12th, 1929 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. To download a readable version (100K), click on the image at left. The same story from page two of the Reno Nevada State Journal of Tuesday, February 12, 1929.

Below is the full front page containing the above article. To download the large version (377K) click on the image below.	Even Catholic newspapers reporting the event declared the "wound" to be healed by the Lateran Treaty. Here is a page from The Catholic Advocate, published in Brisbane, Australia on April 18th, 1929.  Click on the image below to download the larger readable version (139K).

Cardinal Gasparri and Benito Mussolini (seated) after exchanging treaty ratifications
in the Hall of Congregations, the Vatican, June 7th, 1929.

The story as reported by the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, June 7, 1929.

Text of the Lateran Treaty of 1929.    Text in Italian — Vatican Web Site.

The agreement signed 70 years ago by Benito Mussolini and Cardinal Gasparri, on behalf of the King Victor Emmanuel III and Pope Pius XI, restored the full diplomatic and political power of the Holy See of Rome. And today, all the world indeed "wonders" at the revived power of the Roman Catholic Church, the epitome of Church and State combined and a major player in global politics. Pope Pius XI himself commented on the concordat, and his restored power, in the first ten paragraphs of his encyclical Quinquagesimo Ante which is available online.

Pope Pius XI

See also  What does the word Vatican mean?
  The Red Dragon And Rome

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