Lateran Treaty

Lateran Treaty
Vatican and Italian delegations prior to signing the treaty
TypeBilateral treaty
ContextEstablishment of papal state on the Italian Peninsula
Signed11 February 1929 (1929-02-11)[1]
LocationRome, Italy
Effective7 June 1929
ConditionRatification by the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy
SignatoriesPapal States Pietro Gasparri (on behalf of Pius XI)
Fascist Italy Benito Mussolini
Parties Holy See
 Italy
LanguageItalian

The Lateran Treaty (Italian: Patti Lateranensi; Latin: Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III (with his Prime Minister, Fascist Italian Duce Benito Mussolini) and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle the long-standing Roman question. The treaty and associated pacts were named after the Lateran Palace where they were signed on 11 February 1929,[1] and the Italian parliament ratified them on 7 June 1929. The treaty recognised Vatican City as an independent state under the sovereignty of the Holy See. The Italian government also agreed to give the Roman Catholic Church financial compensation for the loss of the Papal States.[2] In 1948, the Lateran Treaty was recognized in the Constitution of Italy as regulating the relations between the state and the Catholic Church.[3] The treaty was significantly revised in 1984, ending the status of Catholicism as the sole state religion.

  1. ^ a b "Vatican City turns 91". Vatican News. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2021. The world's smallest sovereign state was born on February 11, 1929, with the signing of the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy
  2. ^ A History of Western Society (Tenth ed.). Bedford/St. Martin's. 2010. p. 900.
  3. ^ Constitution of Italy, Article 7.