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| A maximum card (from 1958?) with a stamp from Poste Vaticane [VATICAN CITY STATE] "On 11 February 1858, a 14-year-old local girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed a beautiful lady appeared to her in the remote Grotto of Massabielle. The lady later identified herself as "the Immaculate Conception" and the faithful believe her to be the Blessed Virgin Mary. The lady appeared 18 times, and by 1859 thousands of pilgrims were visiting Lourdes. A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was erected at the site in 1864. See Our Lady of Lourdes for more details on the apparitions." - Wikipedia |
An estimated 200 million people have visited the shrine since 1860,[4] and the Roman Catholic Church has officially recognised 67 healings considered miraculous. Cures are examined for authenticity and authentic miracle healing with no physical or psychological basis other than the healing power of the water,[5]
Tours from all over the world are organized to visit the Sanctuary. Connected with this pilgrimage is often the consumption of or bathing in the Lourdes water which wells out of the Grotto."
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vatican_City_OSM_20110615.png |
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| Souvenir sheet from VATICAN CITY STATE. Thank you / multzumesc, Marcel! :) |
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| First Day Cover from VATICAN CITY STATE. Marcel, my friend, thank you / multzumesc! :) |
| Vatican City State[1] Stato della Città del Vaticano[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
| Anthem: "Inno e Marcia Pontificale" (Italian) "Pontifical Anthem and March" | ||||||
![Location of Vatican City (green)in Europe (dark grey) — [Legend]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Location_Vatican_City_Europe.png) | ||||||
| Capital | Vatican City[3] 41°54.2′N 12°27.2′E | |||||
| Official language(s) | Italian[4] Latin[5] | |||||
| Ethnic groups | Italians, Swiss (Swiss Guards), other[6] | |||||
| Government | Ecclesiastical,[6] sacerdotal-monarchical,[7] Absolute and elective monarchy[8] | |||||
| - | Sovereign | Benedict XVI | ||||
| - | President of the Governorate | Giuseppe Bertello | ||||
| Legislature | Pontifical Commission | |||||
| Independence | from the Kingdom of Italy | |||||
| - | Lateran Treaty | 11 February 1929 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 0.44 km2 (235th) 0.17 sq mi | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | July 2010 estimate | 829[9] (223rd) | ||||
i/ˈvætɨkən ˈsɪti/, or Vatican City State,[13] in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano (pronounced [ˈstaːto della t͡ʃitˈta del vatiˈkaːno]),[14] which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800.[6][15]"Vatican City was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of the Holy See and by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports. In each case very few passports are issued.
The Lateran Treaty in 1929, which brought the city-state into existence, spoke of it as a new creation (Preamble and Article III), not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870) that had previously encompassed much of central Italy. Most of this territory was absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, and the final portion, namely the city of Rome with Lazio, ten years later, in 1870.
Vatican City is an ecclesiastical[6] or sacerdotal-monarchical[7] state, ruled by the Bishop of Rome—the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergymen of various national origins. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace."
The Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes, "holy chair") is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Roman Catholic Church. It is also recognized by other subjects of international law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained.[1]"Although it is often referred to by the term "the Vatican", the Holy See is not the same entity as the Vatican City State, which came into existence only in 1929, while the Holy See, theepiscopal see of Rome, dates back to early Christian times. Ambassadors are officially accredited not to the Vatican City State but to "the Holy See", and papal representatives to states and international organizations are recognized as representing the Holy See, not the Vatican City State.
While all episcopal sees are "holy", the expression "the Holy See" (without further specification) is normally used in international relations, as a metonym, (as well as in the canon law of the Catholic Church)[2] to refer to the See of Rome viewed as the central government of the Catholic Church."
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