John Paul II
Pope

(pronounced "JON PALL")

"I was afraid to receive this nomination, but I did it in the spirit of obedience to Our Lord and in the total confidence in his mother, the most holy Madonna."

The official name of the Vatican, or Vatican City as it is inter-changeably called, is Lo Stato de la Citta del Vaticano (State of the Vatican City). It is not a country, but rather an independent city-state and is the smallest state in the world. It is roughly triangle-shaped and covers an area of 0.44 sq km(0.11 sq mi), lying entirely within the city of Rome, Italy, near the west bank of the Tiber River and west of the Castel Sant'Angelo. To the west and south it is bounded by the Leonine Wall. The Vatican is famous for its gardens which...