History of Popes and the Vatican City:
The Vatican City is 110 acres and has a population of just over 800 people. The pope, Benedict XVI, is the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church. He resides in the Vatican City, a sovereign city-state. Rome enclaves the Vatican City entirely. Pope Benedict XVI is the first Polish pope. He was elected on April 19, 2005. The popes ecclesiastical jurisdiction is often called the "Holy See" based upon the Church tradition that the Apostles Saint Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome.
Early popes helped to spread Christianity and resolve doctrinal disputes. After the conversion of the rulers of the Roman Empire, the Roman emperors became the popes’ secular allies until the 8th century when Pope Stephen II was forced to appeal to the Franks for help, beginning a period of close interaction with the rulers of the west. For centuries, the Donation of Constantine provided support for the papacy’s claim of political supremacy over the entire former Western Roman Empire. In medieval times, popes played powerful roles in Western Europe, often struggling with monarchs for control over the wide-ranging affairs of Church and state, crowning emperors, and regulating disputes among secular rulers. (There was quite a bit of corruption in the history of the Catholic Church and it’s popes.)
Gradually forced to give up temporal power, popes now focus almost exclusively on religious matters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope
Check out this other website for a virtual tour of Basilicas and Papal Chapels in the Vatican City http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/index_en.html
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