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Many people, even those familiar with the workings of the catholic Church, easily confuse the terms Holy see and vatican city state.
By the term "Holy see" we mean above all the institutionalized manifestation of the Pope's supreme authority over the whole Catholic Church and his sovereign authority to act in the name of the Church.
"See" means the "Chair" ( in latin" Cathedra" ) of the apostle Peter, to whom Christ entrusted the authority to lead the Church in truth and love. This is the meaning of the term "Apostolic See", precisely because the Pope occupies the "See of Peter" as successor of Peter the apostle. Moreover, since Peter was the head of the Christian community in Rome, where he was martyred around 67 A.D., the Pope is also the Bishop of Rome.
By extension and function, the Holy see means the Pope together with the complex of structures, known as the Roman Curia, that assists him in the universal governance of the catholic Church and in his relations with other authorities and entities in the world.
By Vatican City State, we mean the 110 acres piece of territory, created as a sovereign state in 1929 with the Lateran treaty concluded between the Holy See and Italy.
In that treaty Italy recognizes the sovereign and exclusive jurisdiction of the Holy see over the vatican and the Pope renounces claims to territories which in the past centuries used to constitute the papal states.
The purpose of the creation of this minuscule new State is to assure absolute visible independence to the Holy see in order to guarantee it indisputable sovereignity also in the international field.
Which is the subject of International law: the Holy See or the vatican city state? The answer is both are subjects of international law. In fact, since the vatican City State itself has juridical personality in accordance with international law, it can enter into international agreements as well, specifically regarding technical matters, like postal services,telecom munications, media, etc.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Roman Curia has included the totality of the administrative bodies of the Holy see used by the pope to govern the universal Church. It was not until 1089 that we find the word " curia" in a papal document, under the reign of Urban II.
As papal duties grew, the Roman Curia expanded from the presbyterium, including, until the 11th century, the heads of the great parishes of the city, in the Consistory, that would gather around the Roman Pontiff from the 11th to the 16th century to deal with the important affairs of the Church.
Within the Curia the Secretariat of the State is the coordinating office with authority over both the church's internal and external affairs. There are nine congregations ( the name " congregation" refers to the committee of cardinals and bishops that heads each office) each with responsibility for an area of the church's life. There are also three judicial bodies, that is, tribunals or courts, several copuncils for various causes.
The pope, as the highest authority of the church, has the right to send permanent representatives to the particular churches in various nations and to the government of those nations.
Today the Holy see has diplomatical relations with about one hundred and sixty-five countries and sends delegates or observers to international bodies, such as the United Nations, the European Union and to many international meetings and conferences.