Pope Francis appointed Father Francesco Fontana chaplain of the Directorate of Civil Security and Protection of Vatican City State. At present, he is Superior of the Salesian Community in the Vatican.
The Holy See Press Office announced the appointment last Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Directorate of Security Services of Vatican State
In the Vatican State, the functions of public order, security, and judicial police are entrusted to the Gendarmerie Corps.
According to the official Webpage of Vatican State, Pope Pius VII created this Corps two centuries ago, in 1816, following the Congress of Vienna and the fall of the Napoleonic Empire. It was called the “Pontifical Police Corps.”
Included also in this Directorate is the Vatican’s Firemen’s Corps. Although previously a group of individuals carried out these functions, the Firemen’s Corps was established in 1941, under the pontificate of Pius XII.
The reason for its establishment was due to the War, which required the creation of a well-organized, trained and equipped Firemen’s Corps, with means for emergency intervention in Vatican City and in extra-territorial areas.
