Holy See

The **Holy See** (Latin: _Sancta Sedes_, "holy seat") is the government of the Roman Catholic Church and Vatican City, with the Pope as its head. It consists of the Pope and the Roman Curia. It is metonymically called as "the Vatican".

Every episcopal see is seen as holy and the Eastern Orthodox Church calls all of its sees "holy" or "sacred" (). "The Holy See" (definite singular) usually refers to the see of Rome, which is also called "the Apostolic See". While "Apostolic See" can refer to any see founded by any of the Apostles, the term is in this case refers to the see of the bishop seen as successor of Saint Peter, one of the Apostles.

Aside from Rome, the archiepiscopal See of Mainz, which was also of electoral and primatial rank, is the only other Western see that bears the title of "Holy See", although this usage is less common.

## Organization of the Holy See

The Pope governs the Church and Vatican City through the Holy See. The Holy See consists of a Roman Curia having the Secretariat of State, nine Congregations, three Tribunals, eleven Pontifical Councils, and an assortment of religious and government offices that conduct church and country affairs at the highest level. The Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, leads and supervises the Curia. The current Secretariat of State, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, acts as the Holy See's prime minister. Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary of the Section for Relations With States of the Secretariat of State acts as the Holy See's foreign minister. Bertone and Mamberti were chosen to hold these positions by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006.

Among the most active of the major Curial institutions are the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees church doctrine; the Congregation for Bishops, which coordinates the appointment of bishops or archbishops worldwide; the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which oversees all missionary activities; and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, manages international peace and social issues.

### International organizations

The Holy See is active in international organizations and is a member of the following groups:
- International Grains Council (IGC)
- International Committee for Military Medicine (ICMM)
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO)
- Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
- Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
- Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)*
- Universal Postal Union (UPU), International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT)
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
- Note: In 1971, the Holy See announced the decision to adhere to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in order to "give its moral support to the principles that form the base of the treaty itself."

The Holy See is also a permanent observer of the following groups:
- International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- International Labour Organization (ILO)
- International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
- Latin Union (LU)
- Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington
- Organization of African Unity (OAU)
- United Nations*
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP)
- United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS)
- United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- World Tourism Organization (WToO)
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- World Food Programme (WFP)
- Note: the Holy See is a permanent observer in the United Nations and, in July 2004, gained all the rights of full membership except voting. According to Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See Permanent Observer, "We have no vote because this is our choice." He added that the Holy See considers that its current status "is a fundamental step that does not close any path for the future. The Holy See has the requirements defined by the UN statute to be a member state and, if in the future it wished to be so, this resolution would not impede it from requesting it."

The Holy See is an observer on an informal basis of the following groups:
- Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee (AALCC)
- International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
- United Nations Committee of Peaceful Use of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS)
- World Meteorological Organization in Geneva (WMO)

The Holy See has a delegation to the Arab League in Cairo. It is also a guest of honor to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The Holy See, not the Vatican City, maintains diplomatic relations with states (such as with the United Kingdom), and participates in international organizations. Foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See, not to the Vatican City, and it is the Holy See that governs Vatican City and establishes treaties and concordats with other sovereign entities. When necessary, the Holy See will enter a treaty on behalf of the Vatican City.

Under the Lateran Treaty, the Holy See has extraterritorial authority over 23 sites in Rome and five Italian sites outside of Rome, including the Pontifical Palace at Castel Gandolfo. The same authority is granted by international law to the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in a foreign country.

## Related pages

- Ustaše
- Fascism
- Inquisition
- Fascist Italy
- Anglicanism
- Antisemitism
- Dreyfus Affair
- Protestantism
    - Five solas
        - Sola fide
        - Sola gratia
        - Sola scriptura
        - Solus Christus
        - Soli Deo Gloria
- Supersessionism
- East-West Schism
- Eastern Christianity
- Protestant Reformation
- European wars of religion
- Independent State of Croatia
- Provisional Irish Republican Army
- _The Protocols of the Elders of Zion_
- Native Americans in the United States

### Holy See

- The Holy See Website
- Primacy of the Apostolic See
- CIA World Factbook on Holy See
- Vatican City
- The Holy See in the course of time, from an Orthodox perspective

### Foreign diplomatic missions

- British Embassy to the Holy See
- Canadian Embassy to the Holy See
- Australian Embassy in The Holy See
- United States Embassy to the Holy See
- The Embassy of the Czech Republic at the Holy See in Vatican
- Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations

### Further reading

- The Catholic Church
- The Secret of the Inquisition
- 12 Anti-Semitic Radical Traditionalist Catholic Groups
- Antisemitism in History: From the Early Church to 1400
- Our Lady reconsidered: John Knox and the Virgin Mary
- Foundations of Holocaust: From Inquisition to “Purity of Blood”
- Does the Vatican Have the Ancient Jerusalem Temple Menorah?
- Is there new evidence of Jewish Temple treasures in the Vatican?
- The Ustaše and the Roman Catholic Church in the Independent State of Croatia
- The Roman Catholic Church, the Holocaust, and the demonization of the Jews – Response to “Benjamin and us: Christanity, its Jews, and history” by Jeanne Favret-Saada
- Between Venus and Mars, the Church of Rome Chooses Both  - The Holy See’s geopolitics analyzed in the light of the dominant doctrines

## Infobox (geopolitical organization)

- **conventional long name**: Holy See
- **image flag**: Flag of Vatican City (2023–present).svg
- **flag width**: 100
- **flag type**: Flag of Vatican City, and of the Holy See
- **flag type article**: Flag of Vatican City
- **image coat**: Emblem of the Holy See usual.svg
- **symbol width**: 80
- **symbol type**: Emblem of the Holy See
- **symbol type article**: Coat of arms of the Holy See
- **coa size**: 70
- **national anthem**:
"Pontifical Anthem and March"<div style="padding-top:0.5em;"></div>
- **org type**: Apostolic see, Apostolic
Theocracy
- **admin center type**: Ecclesiastical jurisdiction
- **admin center**: Diocese of Rome
Catholic Church by country, Worldwide
- **demonym**: Papal
Pontifical
- **religion**: Catholic Church
- **patron saint**: Saint Peter, Peter
- **leader title1**: Pope
- **leader name1**: Pope Leo XIV
- **leader title2**: Cardinal Secretary of State
- **leader name2**: Pietro Parolin
- **leader title3**: Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
- **leader name3**: Kevin Farrell
- **leader title4**: Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, President of the Governorate of Vatican City
- **leader name4**: Raffaella Petrini
- **sovereignty type**: Sovereignty, Sovereign entity under international law
- **established event1**: Apostolic see
- **established date1**: Christianity in the 1st century, 1st century by Saint Peter
<small>("Primacy of Peter, Prince of the Apostles")</small>
- **established event2**: Papal primacy
- **established date2**: Early Church – Classical antiquity, Antiquity
<small>(Canon law of the Catholic Church, Canon law; Legal history of the Catholic Church, legal history)</small>
- **established event3**: Donation of Sutri
- **established date3**: 728 <small>(territory in Duchy of Rome by Lombards, Lombard List of kings of the Lombards, King Liutprand, King of the Lombards, Liutprand)</small>
- **established event4**: Donation of Pepin
- **established date4**: 756 <small>(sovereignty in Duchy of Rome reaffirmed by Franks, Frankish List of Frankish kings, King Pepin the Short, Pepin)</small>
- **established event5**: Papal States
- **established date5**: 756–1870
<small>1075: _Dictatus papae_
1177: Treaty of Venice (sovereignty reaffirmed by Emperor Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire)</small>
- **established event6**: Prisoner in the Vatican
- **established date6**: 1870–1929
<small>(under the Kingdom of Italy)</small>
- **established event7**: Vatican City
- **established date7**: 1929–
<small>(Lateran Treaty with Italy)</small>
- **official languages**: Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin
- **languages2 type**: Working language
- **languages2**: Italian language, Italian
- **government type**: Unitary theocratic Catholic elective monarchy, elective absolute monarchy
- **footnote a**: Coat of arms during the papal interregnum (sede vacante) from Death and funeral of Pope Francis, 21 April 2025.