The "Pontifical Anthem and March" ( it, Inno e Marcia Pontificale; la, Hymnus et modus militaris Pontificalis), also known as the "Papal Anthem", is the

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

played to mark the presence of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

or one of his representatives, such as a

nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...

, and on other solemn occasions. When the Vatican's flag is ceremonially raised, only the first eight bars are played. While the Papal Anthem also serves as the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

and the

Vatican City State Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, the Vatican stresses that it "is not to be understood as a national anthem"; it is a composition whose words and music "speak to the heart of many throughout the world who see in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

the

See of Peter The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rom ...

History

The music was composed in 1869 by

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

, for the celebration on 11 April 1869 of Pope Pius IX's golden jubilee of priestly ordination. The purely instrumental piece in three parts, originally called "Marche pontificale" ( French for "Pontifical March"), became extremely popular from its first performance.Pontifical Anthem and its History
From the official site of Vatican City State. Accessed on 2009-06-21.
(in Italian). From the official site of the Holy See. Accessed on 2009-06-21. It was first performed that day at four o'clock in the afternoon with seven pontifical bands and a chorus of over one thousand soldiers. On 16 October 1949,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

declared it the papal anthem, replacing Viktorin Hallmayer's " Marcia trionfale" (1857), which, being still the papal anthem when the Vatican City State was founded in 1929, had been treated also as the new state's anthem. Gounod's "Marche Pontificale" was first performed in this new role during a ceremony on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

of 1949, one day before the opening of the

Holy Year A jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In ''Leviticus'', a Jubilee (biblical), jubilee year ( he, יובל ''yūḇāl'') is mentioned to occur every 50th year; during which slaves and prisoners would be freed, deb ...

1950. The old state anthem too was played for a last time, almost as a token of respect. At that time,

Antonio Allegra Antonio Allegra (1905 – 1969) was an Italian organist and lyricist. As one of the organists of St. Peter's Basilica at his time, he wrote the words to ''Inno e Marcia Pontificale'', which was adopted in 1949 as the national anthem of the Holy See ...

(1905–1969), who was then one of the organists of

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

, wrote

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

lyricsInno Pontificio
lyrics, with brief historical notes and MIDI file. From the official site of the Holy See. Accessed on 2009-06-21. for Gounod's music. Other lyrics have been composed for the music in various languages and by different authors. In 1991, Raffaello Lavagna of

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

(1918–2015) wrote

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

lyrics for a four-voice choir, on an arrangement by

Alberico Vitalini Alberico is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Alberico Albricci (1864–1936), Italian general * Alberico Archinto (1698–1758), Italian cardinal and papal diplomat * Alberico Di C ...

.Score for choir of four voices by Alberico Vitalini with original Latin text by Monsignor Raffaello Lavagna
From the official site of the Holy See. Accessed on 2009-06-21.

Lyrics

Italian lyrics by Allegra (1949)

Latin lyrics by Lavagna (1991)

Alternative Latin lyrics

Notes

References

External links

Official site of Vatican City State

Streaming audio, lyrics and information about the Pontifical Anthemarchive link
{{Authority control Royal anthems Vatican City culture Compositions by Charles Gounod 1869 compositions European anthems National anthems Latin-language Christian hymns National anthem compositions in F major