(1:1)
by Željko Heimer, 11 October 2004
Last modified: 2006-03-18 by dov gutterman
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(1:1)
by Željko Heimer, 11 October 2004
Official Name: The Holy See (State of the
Vatican City) - Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano)
Capital: Vatican City
Location: Enclave of Rome (Italy)
Government Type: Ecclesiastical
Flag adopted: 8
June 1929 (Introduced in 1825)
Coat of Arms adopted: 7 June 1929
ISO Code: VA
See also:
Other sites:
There seem to be a confusion between the Vatican City State,
the minuscule state that exists only since 1929, and the Holy See
(of Rome), which is the entity which is active in all
international relationships except those of a clearly territorial
nature, such as membership of UPU (Universal Postal Union),
INTELSAT, CEPT and UNIDROIT (International Institute for the
Unification of Private Law).
No government would have much interest in relations with so tiny
a state as Vatican City. But 172 states maintain diplomatic
relations with the Holy See, and half of those that have
accredited their ambassador to the Holy See find it worthwhile to
have him or her resident in Rome, distinct from their ambassador
to the Italian Republic.
The flag of the Vatican City State is as on your webpage, showing
the arms with the silver key in the dexter position. When
what is represented is the Holy See, not Vatican City State, the
keys are reversed. Rather, when the state was set up in
1929, the keys in the arms of the Holy
See, with the gold one in dexter position, were reversed to
provide a distinctive symbol for the new entity. In the
personal arms of the popes, the keys are, of course, arranged as
in the arms of the Holy See: the other arrangement would be
equivalent to treating him as merely the head of that little
state. The arrangement for the Holy See is seen in the arms of Pope John Paul II on your webpage.
Rather than "the keys of paradise", as given on your
page, the reference would be better expressed exactly as in
Jesus' words to Peter in St Matthew's Gospel 16:19 "I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven."
I doubt too the exactness of the description given of the papal
flag in use before the Napoleonic occupation of Rome. The
flag used then was that of the city of Rome, which, if I rightly
recall what is today displayed in Rome, is not "yellow and
red" but gold (yellow) and purple, as it no doubt was also
in 1848 and before 1808.
"nuntius" , 14 Febuary 2000
The Vatican has citizens (1500 persons), but there is nobody
with only Vatican citizenship. For example, the Pope is citizen
of both the Vatican and Poland. The other peculiarity is that the
Vatican issues only diplomatic passports, so this is a country,
where all the citizens are diplomats.
Maxval, 14 March 2001
I would suppose the Holy See could be considered to be part of
the government of the Vatican City State, which does have a small
territory.
Elias Granqvist, 15 March 2001
US Department of State's background notes on the Holy See
explain the situation this way:
"The term "Holy See" refers to the composite of
the authority, jurisdiction, and sovereignty vested in the Pope
and his advisers to direct the worldwide Roman Catholic Church.
As the "central government" of the Roman Catholic
Church, the Holy See has a legal personality that allows it to
enter into treaties as the juridical equal of a state and to send
and receive diplomatic representatives. The Holy See has formal
diplomatic relations with 166 nations, including the United
States. Libya, Guyana, and Angola established diplomatic
relations in 1997. Created in 1929 to administer properties
belonging to the Holy See in Rome, the State of the Vatican City
is recognized under international law and enters into
international agreements. Unlike the Holy See, it does not
receive or send diplomatic representatives."
Joe McMillan, 15 March 2001
I notice that the Vatican is listed as "Holy See" in
a list of UN observers at the UN site. Is this used as an
alternative name only, or does it imply something else- more of a
supernational organization, the Catholic Church perhaps? It is
listed as a "non-member state".
Nathan Lamm, 1 October 2002
Holy See is the center of the catholic church, while Vatican
City State is the territorial unit where Holy See is placed. (the
situation is much more complicated, as Holy See not *the* state
is a subject of diplomatic recognition. See web page of the Holy
See's observer mission to UN.) The HS is not a member of UN (and
does not want to become a member). Again - see the web page: <www.holyseemission.org>.
Jan Zrzavy, 1 October 2002
"In the period between the annexation of the Papal State
by Italy in 1870 and the restoration of its temporal sovereignty
in the Lateran Treaty of 1929, the Holy Sea concluded treaties
(in the form of concordats) and entertained diplomatic relations
with the great majority of States. It was to that extent a
subject of international law without being a State in the
accepted sense of the term." (International Law; Collected
Papers of Hersch Lauterpacht).
David Prothero, 29 December 2002
Vatican has 44 hectares of area + 13 other dependencies of
which Castel Gandolfo who has 7 km2, if I remember well. The Holy
See of whom Vatican is the head territory (Vatican is not
strictly equal to Holy See), is the remnant of the Church States.
Jean-Marc Merklin, 28 December 2002
Crampton [cra90] states the
yellow and white used today date from 1808. Before that yellow
and red were used. However, I'm reading Trevelyan's Garibaldi
and the Defence of the Roman Republic at the moment and that
source clearly describes the Papal colours in 1848 as still being
yellow and red.
Roy Stilling, 13 May 1996
From Smith's [smi75]: 'In the
whole middle age red was the colour of Catholic Church, and gold
was used for the crossed papal keys. Napoleon mixed his army with
papal, so pope Pius VII decided new colours should be found.'
Pius VII choose gold and silver, and those were accepted in 1825.
The flag was used until 1870, when the state was integrated into
Italy. When the City of Vatican was formed as separate state, it
took the same flag in 1929.
Željko Heimer, 16 May 1996
According to 'Pavillons nationaux et marques distinctives' [pay00] - State Flag (CSW/--- (1:1))
- Vertically divided yellow-white with the keys emblem in the
middle of the last. The image above matches very well to the 2000
Album issue, here the construction sheet is given as
(1+2+1):(2+2), i.e. the hight of the keys emblem is half the flag
hoist. There are minor differences in keys emblem, but they are
of no significance, I believe - every representation of the keys
is somewhat differently stylized, and I do not believe that there
exists a preffered or official one.
The 2003 correction have the emblem set to larger then half the
hoist (8/23), or if you prefer the "rational"
expression (15+16+15):(23+23). Here the keys are again somewhat
differently stylzed then in 2000 issue, notable, they include a
cross thoughout the key rings, otherwise very much the same. I
don't know what was reason for the change, possibly some document
from Vatican was received by Armand lately.
Željko Heimer, 14 August 2003
The corr. 3. gives a new construction details of the VA flag
(even though the image there does not follow it). The size of the
emblem in the white field is just a bit larger then one third of
the height, so (15+16+15):(23+23).
Željko Heimer, 25 December 2003
According to the Legislation, Album 2000
original issue is correct and the Corr. 3 is not. I should have
pointed out, the 2:3 is an unofficial variant (to match the
official one), and as such surely would come in many versions.
The 1:1 is the only official one.
Željko Heimer, 11 October 2004
by Željko Heimer, 11 October 2004
by Željko Heimer, 11 October 2004
The 2:3 unofficial variant (C--/-- (2:3)) is certainly used
sometimes in "civil use", i.e. when it serves mere
ornamental purpose more then statehood one. The 2000 issue give
here also construction details (1+2+1):(3+3), but this surely
must be orientational - the flag is unofficial anyway. The 2003
issue removes this construction details. See: Non-Square
Flags.
Željko Heimer, 14 August 2003
The unofficial variant in 2:3 is also shown, in corr. 3
without the construction details (in original 2000 issue it had
details, but these are now removed, presumably no sence in
determining construction details for an unofficial flag). The
details were in effect so that the height of the emblem is half
the flag height.
Željko Heimer, 25 December 2003
The current (second) Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the
State of the City of Vatican was published in "Acta
Apostolicae Sedis" on 26 November 2000, and came into force
on 22 February 2001. The wording of Article 20 of this
last is, however, identical to that of Article 19 in the first
Constitution (the so-called Treaty of Lateran) dated 7 June 1929,
and both read as follows:
"Article 20:
1. The flag of the City of the Vatican consists of two fields
divided vertically, yellow field on the staff side and a white
field on the other side, which bears the tiara and the keys, the
whole following the model A annexed to the present law.
2. The shield shows the tiara with the keys, according to the
model B annexed to the present law.
3. The seal bears in the centre the tiara and the keys, and on
the circumference the words "Città del Vaticano"'
[State of Vatican City], according to the model C annexed to the
present law.
Annex A - Official flag of the State of Vatican City:
Cloth divided per pale of yellow and white, the white charged
amid with the crossed Keys surmounted by the
Tiara. Flagpole coated of gold, topped by a spearhead
decorated by a cocarde in the same colours as the flag and gold
fringed."
And the illustration shows a square flag on a staff with a
spearpoint finial (but no fringe) as did that in the 1929
Constitution.
According to both Annex A to the "Acta Apostolicae Sedis
Supplemento per le Leggi e Dispozioni dello Sato dello Cita del
Vaticano" - the so-called Treaty of Lateran - of 7 June
1929, and to Annex A of the recent Constititution, the arms are
illustrated at exactly one-half of flag width as opposed to the
one-third we show on fotw. Interestingly enough, the
apostolic arms as used on the flag show a height to width ration
of 10:7. The "fringe" which I said did not appear on
the flag, refers to a fringed cravat which does appear on both
illustrations.
Christopher Southworth, 10 October 2004
Unconfirmed
by Marcus Schmöger, 20 August 2002
The yellow-white pennant used on motor vehicles carrying John
Paul II bears his personal arms on the white stripe (i.e., his
personal shield-of-arms supported by the tiara-keys emblem, See:
The Car Pennant of Pope Paul VI),
not the simplified tiara-keys emblem.
Rev. William M. Becker, STD, 30 June 2004
The Holy See, naturally, don't have air force. In fact, as far
as I know, it don't have planes. However, when the pope is taking
a flight, his armes appear next to the front door of the plane.
See: <www.airliners.net/351454>,
<www.airliners.net/261961>
and <www.airliners.net/522829>.
It ssems that those arms are left on the plane afterwards as a
declaration "The Pope flew in this plane" as seen on
the out-of-service ex-Viasa plane at <www.airliners.net/484315>.
Dov Gutterman, 28 June 2004
The (larger) Vatican flags seen displayed over Jordan and
Israel during the Pope visit , appeared to be 1:2 rather than
1:1. Some of them as banners.
Santiago Dotor , Jorge Candeias and Dov
Gutterman , 21 March 2000
I see vatican flags in 1:2 ratios constantly. This has
to do with the fact that I went to Catholic Primary and Secondary
Schools, my sister went to a Catholic Primary School, and so is
my brother. Overall, the three of us have attended (or are
attending) 4 different schools. The reason for the
Vatican's flag is that, as a Catholic school, our teaching falls
under the "jurisdiction" of the Vatican. And
since Canada has the law about all flags being the same size as
the Canadian flag, the Vatican's flag is stretched to be 1:2.
Georges G. Kovari, 25 Febuary 2002
In the States the Vatican flag is seen in 2:3 and 3:5, being
made to fit with the standard sizes manufactured by US flag
makers. In our church the US and Vatican flags are 4 foot by 6
feet, i.e. 2:3.
Devereaux Cannon, 25 Febuary 2002
by António Martins-Tuválkin, 24 Aoril 2005
In a Vatican flag-waving crowd Reuters photo, a horizontal
bicolor of yellow over white.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 24 Aoril 2005
Such vertical bicolours (and also longitudinal bicolours of
vertically hanging banners) are not unusual sight on churches at
least in Central Europe, I guess from Baltic to Adriatic. This
especially where the horizontal bi- (and tri) colours are
national flags, making probably a better visual effect then if
the proper VA flag would be used.
Željko Heimer, 24 Aoril 2005
While driving I passed over a car with diplomatic plates which
carried interesting car flag. It was the VA flag but instead the
expected keys there was an ornamated red double cross on the
center (verticl hand of the cross on the
centerline between two colours).
Eli Gutterman, 15 Febuary 2001
The double cross is symbolic for a bishop, maybe there is some
connection. IMHO - the yellow and white flag clearly indicate the
Romancatholic connection - it may be an ususual flag used by
Vatican mission, though it is not quite likely, I guess. I
suspect that the flag may beling to some of the orders or like
organizations that may possibly have diplomatic status in Israel
for some historical reasons (or whatever reason, for that
matter), just like the Maltese Order have in many countires
allover the world.
Željko Heimer, 15 Febuary 2001
Could the vatican use some sort of "rank" flag ? The
VA flag with the key as a car flag might be reserved for the
pope.
Marc , 15 Febuary 2001
Here is a brief synopsis of Roman Episcopal Heraldry.
That crest that you mentioned is an Episcopal coat of arms, which
means it is the arms of a bishop. Any shield that has a
double cross behind it is the crest of an archbishop.
A single cross in the backdrop is the cross of a regular
bishop. On the bishops coat of arms, You also would have
seen an elaborate arrangement of tassels on either side, rather
then the keys of St. Peter, as in the papal coat of arms.
These tassels come in three different forms. Twelve green
tassels signifies the rank of bishop, 20 green tassels signifies
the rank of archbishop, and 30 red tassels signifies the rank of
Archbishop/Cardinal Priest. All bishops, other than the
archbishop of Rome (pope), have a shield in the center which is
split in two halves. The left half, is the arms of his
Diocese, and the right is his personal arms. The scroll
below the shield is the bishops personal motto. You may also see
plain shields that have no tassels but have a mitre on
them. These shields are the arms of the actual
diocese.
I. Jasionowski, 17 March 2002
Jasionowski's paragraph muddled the terminology of
"crest" and "coat of arms" and was also
somewhat confusing about other accoutrements. The following
is from Carl Alexander von Volborth's Heraldry: Customs,
Rules, and Styles:
First, nowhere should the term "crest" appear.
Roman Catholic episcopal CoAs don't have crests.
Second, the crosses mentioned are the episcopal crosses carried
in procession--a metal cross mounted on a staff. The staff
is behind the shield, the cross appearing above it and below the
hat that indicates the prelate's rank.
Pope: crossed keys behind shield, tiara above.
Cardinal: red hat above shield with 15 tassels hanging down
on either side. (Note that most cardinals are also
patriarchs, archbishops or bishops and if so have the appropriate
episcopal cross behind the shield, as listed below.
Patriarch (who is not also a cardinal): green hat with 15
tassels on each side; double-barred cross.
Archbishop (who is not also a cardinal): green hat with 10
tassels on each side; double barred cross.
Bishop (who is not also a cardinal): green hat with 6
tassels on each side; single barred cross.
Abbot and provost with mitre and crozier: black hat with 6
tassels on each side; veiled crozier (pastoral staff) behind
shield.
Abbot and prelate nullius: green hat with six tassels on
each side; veiled crozier behind shield.
Prelate di fiocchetto (senior official of curia): violet
hat with red cords with 10 red tassels on each side; nothing
behind shield.
Protonotary apostolic: violet hat with red cords and six
red tassels on each side.
Prelate of honor: violet hat with violet cords and six
violet tassels on each side.
Chaplain to the pope: black hat with violet cords and six
violet tassels on each side.
Canon: black hat with three black tassels on each side
Dean and minor superiores: black hat with two black tassels
on each side, one above the other.
Priest: black hat with one black tassel on each side.
Anglican bishops and other clergy use a different arrangement.
Joe McMillan, 5 May 2002
As for flags used by Roman Catholic dioceses, there are no
official guidelines. I suspect that (almost) every diocese has a
coat-of-arms, but very few use a distinctive flag. Those that do
are at liberty to design them as they please. In my diocese, we
fly an "armorial banner" of the diocesan arms at key
diocesan sites. It is red, with a white St. George cross, and
charged in the middle with a blue lozenge bearing a white
mystical rose. Here in the US the Vatican flag is commonly used
by Catholic parishes and institutions as a symbol of ecclesial
communion with the pope. By the way, a very good resource for
ecclesiastical heraldry is Bruno Bernard Heim's book, Heraldry in
the Catholic Church.
Rev. William M. Becker, STD, 30 June 2004
I have composed articles for the Flag Bulletin on Vatican
Flags (no. 119) and 19th-century Papal States Flags (pending),
and previously lived in Rome in extraterritorial Vatican zones.
Here are some myths about Vatican flags that I have encountered
over the years, inviting correction. Illustrations are below.
Myth #1: "The Vatican flag is officially
square." - Not exactly.
Its infantry color should be square, but it is not clear that all
other flags should be. An illustration in the Vatican
constitution shows its "official flag" as a square infantry color, with a
special lance, finial, and cravat (Constitution, 2001, annex
A). As such it is carried by the Swiss Guard (Color, Swiss Guard Barracks, 1984
and Color, St. Peter’s
Square). Square infantry colors were the custom of the Papal
States and the Italian peninsula generally, although rectangular
flags prevailed for other state purposes. The current Vatican
flag served as the Papal States civil ensign from 1825-1870 and
was rectangular. Hence it is not clear whether the constitution
requires all Vatican flags to be square, and in practice those
flown on Vatican buildings are not. Since most are manufactured
in Italy, they follow the Italian proportions of 2:3. The size of
the tiara-keys emblem depends on the flag's size and/or
manufacturer; and the shade of the yellow stripe depends on the
flag-maker and/or fabric. Most use golden-yellow, but linen flags
use lemon-yellow.
Myth #2: "The Vatican never flies its flag,
except overseas for diplomatic purposes." - False.
It only flies from local Vatican buildings, however, on annual
holidays specified by the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City
State, including Catholic holy days, papal anniversaries, and
special state occasions. In fact the Vatican phones its various
buildings to remind them to fly the flag, although some are more
regular in its display than others. Below are photos of the flag
flying at the St. Anne’s
Gate (Vatican's public entrance) , St. Damasus Courtyard
(diplomatic entrance) , and an extraterritorial children's hospital (Bambino
Gesu Hospital, Rome, extraterritorial zone of the Holy See).
Myth #3: "A plain yellow-white flag is
proper for extraterritorial properties of the Holy See in
Rome." - False.
Such properties should use the regular Vatican flag, as clarified
by the governor of Vatican City State (letter to the author, 25
February 1993). These properties enjoy various degrees of
extraterritorial privileges according to the 1929 Lateran pacts
and successive agreements. They include Catholic shrines, church
offices, and other properties. Occasionally, however, a plain
bicolor is seen -- probably for reasons of economy.
Myth #4: "There is a special flag to
represent the Holy See apart from the Vatican City flag." -
False.
Smith's Flags Through the Ages and Across the World (1975)
mistakenly showed such a flag (p. 223) which was employed to
welcome Paul VI at Amman airport in 1964 (National Geographic,
December 1964, p. 825). It bore the tiara-keys emblem in stylized
fashion in the center of the flag, and was almost certainly an
erroneous model of the Vatican flag. Indeed all other papal
journeys have employed the usual Vatican flag, including the
pilgrimage of John Paul II to Jordan in 2000. Moreover, papal
diplomats, accredited in the name of the Holy See, are expected
by the Secretariat of State to fly the regular Vatican City flag
despite the technically distinct sovereignties involved (Vatican flag at the Apostolic
Nunciature (Embassy) in Bogota, Colombia). Since the tiny
Vatican state is viewed by papal officials as the sign and
guarantee of the Holy See's independence in international
affairs, its state flag logically serves both entities, and is
commonly referred to as "the papal flag" ("la
bandiera pontificia").
Myth #5: "On the flag, the keys are
juxtaposed with the gold key on the dexter when representing the
Holy See, and on the sinister when representing Vatican
City." - False.
No symbolic difference attaches to the juxtaposition, as can be
seen from the Vatican website, which shows the coats-of-arms of
both entities with the gold key handle on the dexter. It is true,
however, that all papal coats-of-arms since the creation of
Vatican City in 1929 have placed the gold key handle on the
sinister, while the constitutional illustrations of the flag and
arms of Vatican City have always placed it on the dexter. The
difference is merely a matter of custom, however, and the flag is
not manufactured in "different versions" for the two
entities. In actual flags, moreover, liberty prevails in the
juxtaposition of the gold and silver keys.
Myth #6: "The current Vatican flag was the
flag of the Papal States." - Not exactly.
It was the Papal States civil ensign from 1825-1870, and no doubt
gained international familiarity as such, but other flags served
other functions in the same era. The customs ensign was a
yellow-white vertical bicolor with the cardinal chamberlain's
umbrella-and-keys on the white stripe. Plain yellow-white
bicolors (horizontal or vertical) served as unofficial civil
flags. A white flag charged with the arms of the reigning pope
was the war flag for forts and garrisons. The tiny papal navy
flew a white ensign with a small tiara-keys emblem between the
figures of Ss. Peter and Paul (Papal
States War Ensign, Vatican Museums, ca. 1984). The Infantry
color changed with successive popes; from 1860 it was a plain,
square vertical bicolor of yellow-white. There appears to have
been no state flag for unarmed government buildings. In 1929
Vatican City resurrected the pre-1870 civil ensign as its state
flag, probably because it contained the official papal colors
(yellow-white) and the tiara-keys emblem as an unvarying symbol
of the papacy (unlike the personal arms of each pontiff).
Myth #7: "The yellow-white papal colors
come from the medieval crusader banners of Godfrey of
Bouillin." - False.
The most likely origin of the papal colors are the keys of St.
Peter, which in the modern era have usually been rendered in gold
and silver - heraldic tinctures which equate with the colors
yellow and white. The colors were first adopted for the papal
cockade in 1808, when Napoleon's occupying army forcibly
incorporated the papal army into his own, and papal loyalists
desired a symbol of resistance. The colors next appeared in civil
and state ensigns (1825) and in infantry colors (ca. 1835).
Rev. William M. Becker, STD, 23 June 2004
Concering Myth #1, I do not have a copy of
Annex A to the Constitution of 2001, however, I do have a copy of
Annex A to the "Acta Apostolicae...etc" of 7 June 1929
which established the flag of the Vatican City State. This shows
a square flag with the finial and fringed cravat as described by
Fr Becker, however, the size of the Apostolic arms is illustrated
at exactly one-half the width of the flag as opposed to the
one-third on the Construction Sheet.
Interestingly enough, these arms show a height to width ratio of
10:7.
Christopher Southworth, 6 August 2004
