Flag of the Vatican City

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See also: List of flags of the Papacy

National flag. Flag ratio: 1:1

Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga, Oxford, with the flag of the Vatican City flying at half mast the day after the death of Pope John Paul II.

The flag of the Vatican City consists of two vertical bands of gold (hoist side) and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the Papal Tiara centered in the white band. It is one of only two square country flags in the world, the other being the flag of Switzerland.

The flag was adopted on June 7, 1929, the year when Pope Pius XI made the treaty with Italy, setting up a new independent state governed by the Popes, who in 1870 had lost their territorial sovereignty with the final incorporation into Italy of the previously existing much larger Papal States. The Papal States used a purple and gold flag, which resembled the Vatican City one.

The square flag is vertically divided into two halves, the half closer to the flagpole is yellow, the other is white. The Vatican City coat of arms can be found in the white half. The coat of arms consists of:

• the papal tiara (as used under the pontificate of Pius XI);
• the two keys which represent the keys to Heaven (according to the Gospel of Matthew 16:19) given by Jesus Christ to St. Peter. The popes are regarded as the successor of Peter, and the gold and silver keys have been significant elements in the symbolism of the Papal State since the 13th century. The gold represents spiritual power, while the silver key represents worldly power.
• a red cord connecting the keys.

The yellow and white of the flag also refer to the keys – in heraldry yellow represents gold, while white represents silver.

[edit] Flags of the Papal States

Flag of the Papal States prior to 1808.

Flag of the Papal States between 1808-1870.

[edit] External links

• Vatican City at Flags of the World