00:00How did the world's smallest country become a diplomatic giant?
00:03The Vatican covers 44 hectares and has fewer than 1000 inhabitants.
00:06And yet, it has diplomatic relations with as many countries as China.
00:10And the Pope is one of the best-informed men in the world.
00:12And it all starts with a deal with Mussolini.
00:15For over 1000 years, the Pope has reigned over a territory in the very heart of Italy.
00:19the Papal States.
00:20But in 1870, Italy unified and took what remained of it, including Rome.
00:25The Pope no longer has a country, but the ambassadors in other countries remain.
00:29For nearly 60 years, it continued to send and receive ambassadors,
00:32to sign treaties and even to act as mediators.
00:35Even though he doesn't even have a country anymore, I remind you.
00:37But he will be helped by a certain Mussolini.
00:39In 1922, Mussolini came to power and established a fascist dictatorship.
00:44But Mussolini needs the support of Catholics to hold on.
00:47And that's convenient, because the Pope specifically wants his independence.
00:50We need a deal.
00:51Italy creates the Vatican and the Pope finally recognizes Italy.
00:54So why does a country of 44 hectares weigh so much?
00:58Three reasons.
00:59First, the Pope has more followers than almost all countries.
01:011.4 billion Catholics and more than 400,000 priests worldwide.
01:05As a result, the Pope is one of the best-informed men in the world.
01:08Second, he doesn't threaten anyone.
01:10No tanks, no oil, no territory to conquer.
01:13So, everyone agrees to talk to him.
01:15In 1978, Argentina and Chile were on the brink of war.
01:18The Pope intervenes, the war does not take place and peace is signed at the Vatican.
01:22Three, his only weapon is his word.
01:24In the same year, a Pole became pope, John Paul II.
01:27He publicly takes a stand against communism.
01:29Gorbachev would say that without John Paul II, the fall of the Iron Curtain would have been impossible.
01:3444 hectares, no tanks or oil.
01:36And yet, when the Pope speaks, the majority of countries listen to him.
01:39Subtitling by Radio-Canada
