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The Gendarmerie Corps of Vatican City State is the gendarmerie, or police and security force, of Vatican City and the extraterritorial properties of the Holy See. It was founded in 1816 as Corps of Gendarmes by Pope Pius VII, following restoration of the Papal Slates after the Congress of Vienna. The "Papal Carabinieri Corps" was responsible, along with a military corps, for the defense of the Papal States. Pope Paul VI abolished the military corps in 1970. It was renamed the Central Security Office in 1970, the Security Corps in 1991, and was restored to its original name, the Gendarmerie Corps, in 2002. The corps had approximately 150 members in 2023. The corps is responsible for security, public order, border control, traffic control, criminal investigation, and other general police duties in Vatican City. The Vatican Gendarmerie includes two special units, the Rapid Intervention Group and an Anti-Sabotage Unit. Since 2000 an operations and control room, staffed 24 hours a day, coordinates the response of the Vatican security services in the case of an emergency. The Interpol National Central Bureau for Vatican City, tasked with collecting and sharing relevant information on crime and security with Interpol, an organization of which Vatican City is a full member since 2008, is also part of the Vatican Gendarmerie. While the protection of the Pope's person is primarily the Swiss Guard's responsibility, the gendarmes ensure public order at the audiences, meetings and ceremonies at which he is present. In Italian territory and other countries, this is done in liaison with the local police authorities. Artist Cynthia Capuano designed two stamps marking the Gendarmerie's 200th birthday. The set includes a €0,95 stamp depicting a papal gendarme in his ceremonial uniform against the background the Vatican Gardens. The €1,00 value shows a gendarme wearing the current uniform with St Peter's Basilica in the background. The stamps are printed in sheets of ten. Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 1622 - 1623 Date Issued - 10 May 2016 Face Value - €0,95, €1,00 Perforations - 14 x 15 Printing Process - Offset Printer - BDT (Ireland) Max Printed - 150,000 |
| (Source - Vatican Notes: Volume: 64 Issue: 369 Page: 4-6 en.wikipedia.org) |
