Brief summary on Rome.

Pope Benedict and Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, both octogenarians, joked about their age in a brief meeting on Wednesday and then Castro popped the question: so what do you do?

EUROPE.

13-5-81: Congratulations from Pope’s assassination attempt
Leader of the Catholic world as it escaped death after being shot four times in Rome.

In the last two days, Rome was the target of a real peaceful invasion of pilgrims. According to preliminary figures published by the authorities, over one million believers attend the ceremony of beatification of Pope John Paul II, which takes place Sunday at the Vatican.

The coffin with the body of Pope John Paul II is displayed in St. Peter, after he was released Friday from the vaults of the Vatican, in the ceremony of sanctification.

Hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic pilgrims invaded Rome on Saturday, a day before the beatification of the most charismatic pope in history.

Do not do unto others what you do not like to be done unto you.

By the middle of 1960’s, more than 130 national states were generally accepted as independent nations. This number has shown a sharp increase during recent years. At the beginning of World War I, 63 countries were independent. Nearing World War II, 71 countries were independent.

Though the Vatican City State is very small, it has all the paraphernalia of a State or Country.In fact it is called as the "Central Government" of the one billion Roman Catholics all over the world.

With the Lateran Treaties of 1929 the state of Vatican City came into existence. Pope Pius XI had to reorganise his security measures to secure the Vatican. The 20th century would see quite a few changes to these provisions.