Vatican City State
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The relations of the United States with the Vatican have been controversial. For years, the United States had a diplomatic representative there without the rank of ambassador, but in the middle 1980s, the United States established full diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
The Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica are located here.
With a total area of less than a fifth of a square mile, it is often considered the world's smallest country.
It is home to the pope and central administration of the Roman Catholic Church. The pope maintains complete legal, executive, and judicial powers. The Vatican was established in the 1920s by a treaty between the pope and the Italian government.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Neither the Vatican spokesman nor Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, the president of the Vatican City State administration which controls the museums, responded to an email seeking comment.
From Seattle Times • May 13, 2024
Petrini's new position of secretary general of the Governorate of the Vatican City State is comparable to being deputy governor of a state or deputy mayor of a city.
From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2021
It said action was being taken "following the health emergency caused by the spread of Covid-19 which negatively affected all sources of income of the Holy See and the Vatican City State".
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2021
The siblings' father worked as a messenger for the Vatican, and the family lived in Vatican City State.
From Fox News • Jul. 11, 2019
The Vatican City State has no policy on its books to protect children or require reporting of sex crimes to police.
From Washington Times • Feb. 21, 2019
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
