Vatican Flag Will Fly in Front of U.N. Headquarters for Pope's Visit

By Martin Swart [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]
By Martin Swart [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)] (photo: Register Files)

On Friday morning, September 25, Pope Francis' entourage will drive to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where the Holy Father is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly.

And if he looks up when he exits the vehicle, Pope Francis will see the flag of the Holy See flying proudly in front of the U.N. Building. For the first time ever, the United Nations will honor the Vatican by hoisting its flag along with the flags of Member States. According to custom, the United Nations staff raise the flags at 8:00 a.m. each weekday. The flags are arranged in alphabetical order in English by country, lined up from north to south—so we should see the flag of the Holy See (“H”) near the center of the line-up.

This formal raising of the flag of the Holy See was made possible by a vote July 6, 2015, when U.N. Member States adopted a resolution (document A/69/L.76) supporting the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. The milestone resolution provides the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations with the institutional status and the political guidance necessary to pursue its work in promoting intercultural dialogue, understanding and respect among civilizations, cultures, religions and beliefs.

What Is the Holy See's Permanent Observer Mission?

In addition to its 193 Member States, the United Nations welcomes international organizations, entities and non-member states as observers. Observers have the right to speak at United Nations General Assembly meetings, vote on procedural matters, serve as signatories on working papers, and sign resolutions, but not to sponsor resolutions or vote on substantive matters.

The Holy See, the official legislative body for the Vatican, has by its own choice maintained a Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations, rather than becoming a full Member, because it prefers to maintain absolute neutrality in specific political problems. It operates under the leadership of the Permanent Observer and Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Bernardito Auza. 

At the United Nations, the experience and activity of the Holy See is directed towards attaining freedom for every believer and seeks to increase the protection of the rights of every person, rights which are grounded and shaped by the transcendent nature of the person, which permit men and women to pursue their journey of faith and their search for God in this world.

In its activities at the United Nations, the Holy See Mission works to advance freedom of religion and respect for the sanctity of all human life—from conception to natural death—and thus all aspects of authentic human development including, for example, marriage and family, the primary role of parents, adequate employment, solidarity with the poor and suffering, ending violence against women and children, poverty eradication, food, basic healthcare and education.

What Will Pope Francis Say to the United Nations?

At 8:30 a.m., Pope Francis will address the U.N.'s General Assembly. As that body celebrates its historic 70th anniversary year, Member States will make major decisions about sustainable development, climate change and the future peace and well-being of mankind. Of course, he may surprise us—but the Holy Father's visit is expected to encourage the international community to redouble its efforts to achieve human dignity for all through ensuring greater social justice, tolerance and understanding among all of the world's peoples.

The Pope will also have bilateral meetings with the Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea and the President of the General Assembly, Sam Kahamba Kutesa of Uganda. And finally, he will participate in a townhall gathering with United Nations staff.

The Flag of the Holy See

At just over 100 acres Vatican City, where Pope Francis makes his home, is the smallest country in the world. It is surrounded by a wall which separates the Vatican grounds from its neighbor, Italy. Its government or administrative staff is more commonly called the “Holy See.”

The flag of the Holy See (or Vatican City-State) which will fly over the U.N. this Friday features two vertical stripes of yellow (on the mast side) and white. The yellow shade symbolizes the religious strength of the pope, while the white shade represents his universal authority.

Over the bi-color background is the coat of arms of the Holy See, which depicts the keys of Saint Peter, one gold key and one silver, with a three-level papal crown on top. A red cord binds the keys together as one.

The traversed keys represent the keys of heaven and the authority which Jesus gave to Peter in Matthew 16:19 when he said,

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."

The three-level crown depicts the papal tiara which was the pope's customary headdress from the 8th century through the middle of the 20th century. Actual wearing of the papal tiara was discontinued by Pope Paul VI (who last wore it in 1963), but it remains a symbol of the papacy. The three-tiered crown which was introduced in the 14th century is also called the triregnum, triple tiara or triple crown. Its three layers have come to symbolize the Pope's powers as priest, ruler and teacher.