List of flags of the Papacy explained

The following is a list of flags used in the Vatican City and its predecessor, the Papal States.

National flag and State flag

See main article: Flag of Vatican City.

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	7 June 1929 – 26 November 2000	National flag and civil ensign	Two fields divided vertically, yellow field on the staff side and a white field on the other side, which bears the tiara and the keys.
	26 November 2000 – 7 June 2023	National flag and civil ensign	Two fields divided vertically, yellow field on the staff side and a white field on the other side, which bears the tiara and the keys. Ratio: 1:1.^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4]
	7 June 2023–present	National flag and civil ensign	Two fields divided vertically, yellow field on the staff side and a white field on the other side, which bears the tiara and the keys.

Papal flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2005–2013	Papal pennant	With a yellow band at the hoist and Pope Benedict's personal arms in color in the white fly.
	2013–present	Papal pennant	With a yellow band at the hoist and Pope Francis's personal arms in color in the white fly.

Historical flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
		Papal naval ensign	White flag with a version of the coat of arms of the Holy See between the figures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
	1300s
	1510s
	1520s
	1520s
	1540s	Banner of Pope Paul III
	1669–1771	Flag for Papal Ships	Flag with Christ on the cross, St Peter and St Paul.
	-1808^[5] ^[6]	Papal cockade until 1808, de facto state flag^[7]	Yellow and Red plain bicolour
	1808-1870^[8]	Pilot flag, Infantry colours and de-facto civil flag^[9]	Yellow and White plain bicolour
	-1870	War and proto-national flag^[10] flown over Porta Pia during the fall of Rome (1870)^[11] ^[12] ^[13]	Yellow and white, with simplified coat of arms of the Holy see in the middle
	1803–1825	Flag for Papal Merchant Ships	White
	1849		The Italian tricolour using darker colours with the phrase DIO E POPOLO (God and People) in the centre.
	1825–1870	Flag for Papal Merchant Ships	Yellow and white.

See also

• Flag of Vatican City
• Coat of arms of Vatican City
• History of Christian flags

Notes and References

1. Web site: Flag of Vatican City . 2021-09-26 . vertically divided yellow-white national flag with an emblem on the white stripe featuring two crossed keys and a papal tiara. The flag is square in its proportions..
2. Web site: The Flag of the Vatican City . 2021-09-26 . The Vatican City State flag is square in shape, with yellow and white vertically divided on each side of the flag..
3. Web site: Legge fondamentale dello Stato della Città del Vaticano 26 novembre 2000 . 2021-09-26 . it.
4. Web site: letter to the German nunciature (2010-05-27) . 2021-09-26 . de.
5. Web site: Storia della Bandiera dello Stato della Città del Vaticano . 31 December 2000 . vatican.va . it . "Anticamente la bandiera dello Stato pontificio era giallorossa (o per meglio dire amaranto e rossa, colori derivati dai colori dello stemma della Santa Sede), i due colori tradizionali del Senato e del Popolo romano, che vennero tuttavia sostituiti con il bianco e il giallo nel 1808.".
6. Web site: Bandiera pontificia . Estado de la Ciudad del Vaticano . 2024-03-09 . En el pasado, la bandera del Estado pontificio era de color amarillo y granate (o mejor dicho, carmesì y rojo, colores relacionados con el escudo de la Santa Sede), dos colores tradicionales del Senado y del Pueblo romano. . es . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100731170831/http://www.vaticanstate.va/ES/Estado_y_Gobierno/Breve_Introduccion/Bandera_pontificia.htm . 31 July 2010 .
7. Book: Becker, William M. . Vatican Flags: Keys and Crowns Since 1800 . 1: Toward the Modern Papal Colors (1800–1825) . 978-0974772875 . North American Vexillological Association . 2018 . 22.
8. Web site: Bandiera pontificia . Stato della cità del Vaticano . 2008-07-09 . Anticamente la bandiera dello Stato pontificio era giallorossa (o per meglio dire amaranto e rossa, colori derivati dai colori dello stemma della Santa Sede), i due colori tradizionali del Senato e del Popolo romano, che vennero tuttavia sostituiti con il bianco e il giallo nel 1808, allorché Pio VII . it . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081015004609/http://www.vaticanstate.va/IT/Stato_e_Governo/NoteGenerali/Bandiera.htm . 2008-10-15 .
9. William Becker "Vatican Flags", 2018
10. William Becker "Vatican Flags", 2018
11. Web site: 2011-09-29 . Vaticano, la bandiera di Porta Pia ritorna dopo 141 anni . 2023-11-03 . La Stampa . it.
12. Web site: MEMORIAE TRADERE. E’ TORNATA IN VATICANO LA BANDIERA DEI DIFENSORI DI PORTA PIA – di Pucci Cipriani – Ricognizioni . 2023-11-03 . www.ricognizioni.it.
13. Web site: Cipriani . Pucci . 2022-10-31 . È tornata in Vaticano la Bandiera dei difensori di Porta Pia . 2023-11-03 . it-IT.