Vatican City, Feb 15, 2009 / 20:35 pm
The President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, inaugurated an expo on the Vatican City State on Thursday, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its founding. The expo will be open to the public until May 10.
According to the L’Osservatore Romano, the commemorative exposition, one of three events celebrating the anniversary in addition to a special conference and a concert at the Paul VI Hall, is divided into five sections. The first focuses on the Vatican before 1929; the second on Pius XI—who signed the Lateran Accords which created the Vatican City State; the third on the Lateran Accords; the fourth on the construction of the State; and the fifth on the six pontificates that came after Pius XI: Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.