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St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. / Credit: Vlas Telino studio/Shutterstock
ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 1, 2024 / 14:50 pm (CNA).
With the publication of new regulations, Pope Francis has made it clear that employees of the Fabric of St. Peter must profess the Catholic faith, wear decent and appropriate clothing, and not have visible tattoos or piercings, among other requirements.
The Office of the Holy See has published a chirograph of Pope Francis on the Statute and Regulations of the Chapter of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, which determines the norms for the staff of the Fabric of St. Peter, the entity responsible for the conservation and maintenance of St. Peter’s Basilica. A chirograph is an order signed by the pope.
All employees must comply, including the so-called “sampietrini,” those in charge of admittance, surveillance, cleaning, and maintenance of the Vatican basilica.
The document, published on June 29, establishes that employees must “take care of their outward appearance in accordance with the demands and customs of the work environment.”
The Holy Father thus determined that “visible tattoos on the skin and piercings are prohibited.” Likewise, employees must “wear decent clothing appropriate to the activity they are going to perform.”
It will also be mandatory for them to “profess the Catholic faith and live according to its principles” as well as demonstrate that they are married in the Church by presenting a “canonical marriage certificate.” They must also provide baptism and confirmation certificates and demonstrate that they have no criminal record.
The chirograph also states that members of the Fabric staff “commit to observing exemplary religious and moral conduct, even in their private and family life, in accordance with the doctrine of the Church.”
“Staff are required to behave politely while on duty, [be] respectful of the sacred place, and act … properly toward others and [in consideration of] the surroundings,” the document reads.
Also, “special care will be taken to observe the pontifical secret, in accordance with current regulations.”
Likewise, without prior authorization from the archpriest in charge of the basilica, “no one may issue statements and interviews, not even through digital instruments and platforms, regarding the people, activities, environments, and guidelines of the Fabric.”
Furthermore, Article 10 establishes that the staff is obliged to strictly observe confidentiality and will not be able to “provide to anyone who does not have the right to it information about events or news that they have learned due to their work or service.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Vatican City, Jun 26, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis has announced measures to transition Vatican City to using solar energy as its main source of electricity, as outlined in his latest motu proprio titled Fratello Sole, or “Brother Sun.”
The Holy Father has tasked the relevant Vatican governing bodies to collaborate with Italian authorities and build an “agrivoltaic system,” which would use land in Santa Maria di Galeria, an extra-territory of Vatican City situated outside of Rome, for farming and solar energy production.
“We need to make a transition toward a sustainable development model that reduces greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere,” reads the motu proprio, a decree authorized by the pope.
“Humanity has the technological means necessary to face this environmental transformation and its pernicious ethical, social, economic, and political consequences and, among these, solar energy plays a fundamental role,” the document reads.
In “Brother Sun,” the Holy Father expressed his desire to “contribute to efforts of all states” to abide by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, which came into effect in Vatican City in 2022 on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4) to combat the challenges of climate change on our “common home.”
Though the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reports the Vatican’s global emissions were around 0.0000443% in 2022, it recognized the state is “committed to achieving a reduction in emissions in line with the goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, as well as to pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as foreseen in the Art. 2 of Paris Agreements.”
The transition to solar energy as the main power source is the latest initiative of the Vatican to become more “green” and ecologically sustainable. But solar energy has already been in the sight of the Holy See for nearly two decades.
During his pontificate, Benedict XVI encouraged the international community “to respect and encourage a ‘Green Culture’ characterized by ethical values,” according to Cardinal Paul Poupard, the former head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in a 2007 statement.
In 2008, Benedict XVI also approved the installation of 2,400 solar panels on the roofs of the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall “to power the lighting, heating, and cooling of a portion of the entire country” according to a National Geographic report.
Under Pope Francis, the Vatican partnered with Volkswagen to introduce an all-electric car fleet to reduce the state’s carbon footprint in 2023. One year after the release of the encyclical Laudato Si’, the Vatican innovated its recycling system in 2016 to reduce waste and pollution.
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