The Story of the Vatican

Using footage shot by a March of Time camera crew, this film documents the workings of the Vatican City and the extensive art collection within its confines, and presents a summary of the career of Pope Pius XII. Pope Pius XII, previously Eugenio Cardinal Pacella, who acted as Papal Secretary of State under Pius XI, ascended to the papacy in 1939. He became the first pope to be crowned on the balcony outside St. Peter's Basilica in public view. The Pope resides in the Vatican City, a sovereign state in the middle of Rome, which became independent in 1929. Thirty-eight nations have representatives at the Vatican. The Vatican's governor is the highest lay authority in the city and is responsible for the administration of all civil affairs. The narrator explains that the Vatican City has its own radio station, donated and installed by inventor Guglielomo Marconi. It is the home of the Polyglot Press, which disseminates the teachings of the Pope, and of the newspaper Osservatore Romano , which the narrator points out, is not subject to the censorship of Mussolini's government. Vatican City also maintains the shortest railroad system in the world, and has its own currency, fire department and post office, and since 1923, an electrical plant. These facilities are operated by a host of employees, who pay no taxes and may live in the city rent free. Nearly 300 men are employed in cleaning, repairs and restoration of the Vatican's buildings and extensive art collections, as well as its fifteen acres of gardens. Others employed within the Vatican are the pontifical gendarmes, charged with maintaining order in the Vatican palace, and the Swiss Guard, responsible for protecting the Pope and his residence. Footage of the Vatican library is shown, including examples of material recording the history of the church. Over 50,000 ancient manuscripts and 350,000 prints and engravings are included in the library's collection. The library, which is catalogued using the Library of Congress system, also holds the papal bulls or seals. Among the other art treasures illustrated in the documentary are Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel and some of the fifty-two paintings of Biblical scenes by Raphael. Film of St. Peter's Basilica is shown. Among the objects of interest in St. Peter's, which took 125 years to build, are a statue of St. Peter and St. Peter's tomb. Beneath the Basilica are the crypts, where many popes are buried. The documentary ends with footage portraying members of the Noble Guard, Italian noblemen who advise the Pope, the Congregation of Rights, who handle questions of liturgy and canonization, and the many pilgrims who visit the Vatican every year.