Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State

The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (Latin: Pontificia Commissio pro Civitate Vaticana, Italian: Pontificia Commissione per lo Stato della Città del Vaticano) is the legislative body of Vatican City.^[1] It consists of a president, who also holds the title of President of the Governorate and deputizes as the head of government of Vatican City, as well as six cardinals appointed by the Pope, the head of state of Vatican City, for five-year terms.^[1]

Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
Coat of arms of Vatican City
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
President	Raffaella Petrini since 1 March 2025
Structure
Seats	7
Political groups	Nonpartisan
Elections
Voting system	Appointment by the Pope
Meeting place
Palace of the Governorate
Website
Official website

The Pontifical Commission was created in 1939 by Pius XII. Laws and regulations proposed by the Commission must be submitted to the Pope through the Secretariat of State prior to being made public and taking effect.^[1] Laws, regulations, and instructions enacted by the Commission are published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.^[2]

Current members

As of 8 May 2025, the president and the members are:

Position	Name[3]	Country	Other positions
President	Sister Raffaella Petrini	Italy	President of the Governorate of Vatican City State
Members	Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell	United States	Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
	Vacant[a]		Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops
	Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti	Italy	Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches
	Cardinal Arthur Roche	United Kingdom	Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
	Cardinal Leonardo Sandri	Argentina	Prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches
	Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik	South Korea	Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy

Governorate of Vatican City State

Administrations and departments of Vatican City's government, including the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City, the Vatican Observatory, the Vatican Museums and the Department of Pontifical Villas, which administers Castel Gandolfo, report to the Governorate.^[4]

The functions of the Governorate include:

• Legal office
• Office for Personnel
• Office for Civil Records
• Archives
• Accounting Office
• Numismatic and Philatelic office
• Post and Telegraph office
• Shipping office
• Police Department (Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City)
• Tourist Information Office
• Department of Museums and Galleries (Vatican Museums)
• Department of Economic Services
• Department of Technical Services
• Vatican Observatory
• Castel Gandolfo
• Office for Archaeological Research

President

President of the Governorate of Vatican City State
Coat of arms of Vatican City
Flag of Vatican City
Incumbent Sister Raffaella Petrini since 1 March 2025
Type	Delegated head of government[b]
Member of	Governorate of Vatican City State Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
Reports to	The Pope
Appointer	The Pope

The president of the Pontifical Commission also serves as the Vatican City State’s de facto head of government, as the president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, an office that is distinct from the former title of governor of Vatican City.^[5] In addition to their legislative role, the president is delegated executive authority for Vatican City by the Pope.^[6][7] As a senior member of the Roman Curia, the president has usually been a cardinal.^[8] Raffaella Petrini is the first religious sister to hold the position.

During a sede vacante, the term of the president ends, as do most other offices in the Curia. However, the holder of the office prior to the death or resignation of the pope becomes a member of the Commission that handles some of the functions of head of state until a new pope can be chosen, along with the former Cardinal Secretary of State and the Cardinal Camerlengo.^[9]

This paragraph is an excerpt from Governor of Vatican City.[edit]

The post of Governor of the Vatican City State (Italian: Governatore dello Stato della Città del Vaticano) was held by Marchese Camillo Serafini from the foundation of the state in 1929 until his death in 1952. The governor had power to appoint and supervise the people running the city state. During Serafini's lifetime, the powers of the governor were limited by Pope Pius XII in 1939 by the establishment of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. No successor was appointed and the position was abolished on Serafini's death.

List

Governor of the Vatican City State
No.	Image	Name	Nationality	Term	Length of term	Appointer
1		Marquis Camillo Serafini (1864–1952)	Italy	11 February 1929 – 21 March 1952	23 years, 39 days	Pius XI
Presidents of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
No.	Image	Name	Nationality	Term	Length of term	Reigning pope(s)
1		Cardinal Nicola Canali (1874–1961)	Italy	20 March 1939 – 3 August 1961	22 years, 136 days	Pius XII John XXIII
2		Cardinal Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (1883–1973)	Italy	12 August 1961 – 30 April 1969	7 years, 261 days	John XXIII Paul VI
3		Cardinal Jean-Marie Villot (1905–1979)	France	2 May 1969 – 9 March 1979	9 years, 311 days	Paul VI John Paul I John Paul II
4		Cardinal Agostino Casaroli (1914–1998)	Italy	28 April 1979 – 8 April 1984	4 years, 346 days	John Paul II
5		Cardinal Sebastiano Baggio (1913–1993)	Italy	8 April 1984 – 31 October 1990	6 years, 206 days	John Paul II
6		Cardinal Rosalio José Castillo Lara (1922–2007)	Venezuela	31 October 1990 – 15 October 1997	6 years, 349 days	John Paul II
7		Cardinal Edmund Szoka (1927–2014)	United States	15 October 1997 – 15 September 2006	8 years, 335 days	John Paul II Benedict XVI
8		Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo (born 1935)	Italy	15 September 2006 – 1 October 2011	5 years, 16 days	Benedict XVI
9		Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello (born 1942)	Italy	1 October 2011 – 1 October 2021	10 years, 0 days	Benedict XVI Francis
10		Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga (born 1945)	Spain	1 October 2021 – 1 March 2025	3 years, 151 days	Francis
11		Sister Raffaella Petrini (born 1969)	Italy	1 March 2025 – Incumbent	79 days	Francis Leo XIV

See also

• Index of Vatican City–related articles
• Politics of Vatican City
• Pontifical commission

Notes

1. Pope Leo XIV (as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost) was a member of the commission, until his election as pope on 8 May 2025.
2. The pope wields all executive power in the Vatican City State; however, the pope, as head of state and de jure head of government, delegates the day-to-day exercise of this and the running of government departments to the President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, making them de facto head of government.