Papal State
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State of the Church Status Ecclesiasticus Status Pontificius | |
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Anthem: Pontifical Anthem | |
| Official languages | Ecclesiastical Latin |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Government | Unitary Christian absolute monarchy |
| Holy See | |
• Pope | Gregory XVII |
| Legislature | Pontifical Commission |
| River Concordat | |
• Formal borders established | 11 February 1815 |
| Population | |
• 2025 estimate | 56,706 |
| Currency | Taler (₮) (LUT) |
| Internet TLD | .va |
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| Catholic Church |
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The Papal State (Latin: Status Pontificus), officially the State of the Church (Latin: Status Ecclesiasticus) is an independent city-state enclaved within Urceopolis, Urcea. It is distinct from yet under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See. It is among the world's smallest states in terms of both population and area. It is largely dependent on the Levantine Union for defense and for public services, and uses the Taler as its official currency.
The Papal State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state (a type of theocracy) ruled by the Pope who is, religiously speaking, the Bishop of Urceopolis and head of the Catholic Church. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins.
The Holy See dates back to early Christianity, and is the primate episcopal see of the Catholic Church. The Papal State, on the other hand, came into existence organically during the decline and collapse of Great Levantia and reached its zenith during the high medieval period and included, de facto, the entire Duchy of Transurciana up through the Great Interregnum of Urcea before entering into something approximating its modern borders in the 14th and 15th centuries. Its formal borders were established by the River Concordat of 1815 during the Recess of the Julii.
Name
The official name of the country in Julian Ænglish is State of the Church. Prior to the Convention of 1815, the territories under the authority of the Pope were also referred to variously as the State(s) of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Patrimony of St Peter (Latin: Status Pontificius, also Dicio Pontificia "papal rule").
Geography
The Papal State is a landlocked enclave entirely within the city of Urceopolis in Urcea, located on the southern bank of the Esquiline River. The state is approximately rectangular shaped, occupying a space of 1.6 miles east to west and .8 miles north to south at its widest and tallest, giving the state about a square mile of area. The State is located entirely within the Vatican Walls, a complex of medieval and renaissance fortifications surrounding the State. Almost the entirety of the Papal State's landmass is covered in buildings or roads, with the exception of various Papal gardens.
Prior to the River Concordat of 1815, the State encompassed an uncertain amount of territory which largely depended on rival claims inconsistent with modern definitions of state boundaries, but at its most liberal definition the State encompassed the entire territory of the Duchy of Transurciana, the parts of the Archduchy of Urceopolis south of the Esquiline and east of the Urce River. Papal control gradually contracted to a smaller but still uncertain boundary until the modern borders were fixed in 1815.
History
Early emergence
Commune of the Esquiline
River Concordat of 1815
Government
The government of the Papal State has a unique structure. As governed by the Holy See, the Pope is the sovereign of the state, while legislative authority is vested in the Pontifical Commission for the State of the Church, a body of cardinals appointed by the Pope for five-year periods. Executive power is in the hands of the president of that commission, assisted by the general secretary and deputy general secretary. The state's foreign relations are entrusted to the Holy See's Secretariat of State and diplomatic service. Nevertheless, the Pope has absolute power in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches over the Papal State, and is thus the only absolute monarch in Levantia. Operationally, there are departments that deal with health, security, telecommunications and other matters.
As the Papal State is governed by the Holy See, the Pope is ex officio head of state of the State of the Church, a function dependent on his primordial function as bishop of the diocese of Urceopolis and head of the Catholic Church. The term "Holy See" refers not to the Papal State but to the Pope's spiritual and pastoral governance, largely exercised through the Curia. His official title with regard to the Papal State is Sovereign of the State of the State of the Church.
Executive authority is delegated to the Governorate of the State of the Church. The Governorate consists of the President of the Pontifical Commission—using the title "President of the Governorate of the State of the Church"—a general secretary, and a Vice general secretary, each appointed by the Pope for five-year terms. Important actions of the Governorate must be confirmed by the Pontifical Commission and by the Pope through the Secretariat of State.
The Governorate oversees the central governmental functions through several departments and offices. The directors and officials of these offices are appointed by the Pope for five-year terms. These organs concentrate on material questions concerning the state's territory, including local security, records, transportation, and finances. The Governorate oversees a modern security and police corps.
Legislative functions are delegated to the unicameral Pontifical Commission for the State of the Church, led by the President of the Pontifical Commission for the State of the Church. Its seven members are cardinals appointed by the Pope for terms of five years. Acts of the commission must be approved by the Pope, through the Holy See's Secretariat of State, and before taking effect must be published in a special appendix of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. Most of the content of this appendix consists of routine executive decrees, such as approval for a new set of postage stamps.
Judicial functions are delegated to a supreme court, an appellate court, a tribunal (Tribunal of the State of the Church), and a trial judge. At the Papal State's request, sentences imposed can be served in Urcea.
The more than 55,000 residents of the State are subject to a relatively strict set of laws based on Catholic teaching and are expected to follow them; many individuals convicted of "moral crimes" are deported from the State to their home nationality, which is usually Urcea. Individuals with no foriegn nationality have the option to be deported to Urcea (per a standing agreement, they are automatically given Urcean citizenship) or to serve a term of imprisonment.
Demographics
As of 2030, the Papal State had a population of 56,706. Of these, approximately 38,201 were Urcean nationals, with the remaining 18,000 being either foreign nationals or true natives of the Papal State. People living in the Papal State can broadly be divided into three categories. The most numerous type of Papal State resident are so-called "ancient" residents, individuals who have lived in the portion of Urceopolis at the time of the 1815 Concordat. Making up about 25,000 of the State's population, the ancient residents live and work normal lives within the State while not working for the Church itself. Generally speaking, moving to the Papal State beyond one's work and relationship to the Church is not permitted, and accordingly the ancients are able to demonstrate either true ancestry from prior to 1815 or otherwise married in or inherited property within the State. The second most populous type are administrative employees of the Church and their families. Many of the Church's employees live beyond the State's borders in Urceopolis and its suburbs, but a lottery exists to allocate space within the State for these individuals. The third group of people within the State are priests, bishops, and religious (including both male and female), nearly all of whom come from abroad. These individuals make up the seniormost government and Church officials within the State.
Economy
The economy of the Papal State is mostly driven by the presence of the administrative apparatus of the Catholic Church, which is partially contained within its walls. A large service sector exists to provide the necessary accommodations (housing, food, personal services, etc.) to support the several thousand support staff and priests who work within the State as well as the several thousand ancient residents of the Papal State. Most ancient residents of the State either work within its service sector or commute to work in Urcea, giving the Papal State a significant inflow of capital. Another major sector is tourism, as Saint Peter's Archbasilica and other major sites, such as the Vatican Museum, are some of the most visited places in the world. The tourism industry also provides a significant boost to the service sector economy, as two major hotels and dozens of restaurants are located within the State to provide for visitors from abroad as well as local patrons.
The Papal State uses the Taler as its primary currency.
Military and security
As the Papal State is an enclave within Urcea, its military defense is provided by the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea, an arrangement formalized in the 1815 Concordat. Despite this arrangement, the Papal State is officially a neutral state. The Papal State has no armed forces of its own, although the Yonderian Guard is a military corps of the Holy See responsible for the personal security of the Pope (both inside the Papal State and abroad) and residents in the state. Soldiers of the Yonderian Guard are entitled to hold Papal State passports and nationality. At the end of 2030, the Guard had 489 members. All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried Yonderian males who have completed their basic training with the Yonderian Defence Force with certificates of good conduct, and must be between the ages of 18 and 30. The Yonderian Guard are equipped with traditional weapons, such as the sabre and halberd, as well as with modern firearms. The Guard also has armored vehicles in reserve on loan from Urcea's Royal and Imperial Army. The Guard's duties can be expanded in a dire emergency at the request of the Gendarmerie Corps to deal with national defense emergencies such as an insurrection. As the Papal State has listed every building in its territory on the International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection, the International Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict theoretically renders it immune to armed attack.
Civil defense is the responsibility of the Corps of Firefighters of the State of the Church, the national fire brigade. Dating its origins to the early nineteenth century, the Corps in its present form was established in 1941. It is responsible for fire fighting, as well as a range of civil defense scenarios including flood, natural disaster, and mass casualty management. The Corps is governmentally supervised through the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defense, which is also responsible for the Gendarmerie.
The Gendarmerie Corps is the gendarmerie, or police and security force, of the Papal State and the extraterritorial properties of the Holy See in and around Urceopolis. The corps is responsible for security, public order, border control, traffic control, criminal investigation, and other general police duties in the Papal State. The corps has 541 personnel and is a part of the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defense, an organ of the Governorate of the State of the Church.