Since its beginnings in the 1400s, the Vatican Library's mission has not changed: to be at the service of humanity. It provides material for scholars, students and anyone who can prove they are studying a particular item contained inside the shelves lining the library .
One room in particul ar represents this mission, the Sistine Hall. It used to be the headquarters of the Vatican's Library. The entire Vatican library houses 1.1 million printed books, 80,000 manuscripts and 100,000 documented archives, mainly gathered from Roman families who donated their pieces to the library.
Written texts were not only originally brought to the library in Latin, but soon expanded to Greek and then Hebrew. Then the path to other alphabets also opened up, such as volumes in Japanese, Chinese and other Oriental languages. There are even some without words, like these pictograph volumes of South America.
The library has begun placing each of these books and manuscripts online through the process of digitalization .
The Vatican's printing press , otherwise known as the Tipografia, is one of the many offices inside the Vatican City State with a crucial role.
Originating in 1587, it served the Holy See in various regards, printing papal texts, documents from various Vatican congregations and even tickets for pilgrims to attend events with the pope.
Graphic designers work in the Tipografía taking care of the layout of each book or text, from adjusting the body of the letters to including the Vatican's official seal.
The L'Osservatore Romano is printed each afternoon and is packaged by a team who get it out to the public as soon as possible.
Brightly colored tickets for papal events are printed in the same room, on a much smaller printer.
In its current role, the printing press continues to work for the Holy See, at the service of the pope and the Secretary of State . They make sure all official documents , books and tickets are made available to the faithful all around the world, no matter how far they are from the Eternal City itself.
Also, just in front of St. Peter's Basilica lies an unassuming bookstore called Benedict XVI, tucked away among the various Vatican offices lining the street.
It is the home of the Vatican's publishing house, LEV (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), serving the pope since its beginnings in 1587.
Aside from papal texts, 30 percent of their books are written by theologians or contributing authors. Another portion are made by LEV themselves. These include various series published for the Church's liturgical seasons . During Advent , Lent and the Marian month of May, there are books w ith daily reflections taken from Pope Francis' words.
It's how the Vatican's Publishing House is still relevant and active in society. With two libraries in St. Peter's Square, they make magisterial texts and religious books available to all tourists and faithful who would like to bring a small piece of the Holy See home with them in the form of a book .
