Vatican City Flags – Papal Flag, Bunting & Hand Flags

The Vatican City flag: the keys of Saint Peter

The flag of Vatican City is divided vertically into two equal halves, gold at the hoist and white at the fly. On the white half are the crossed keys of Saint Peter, one gold and one silver, tied with a red cord and topped by the papal tiara, the triple crown once worn by popes. The keys recall Christ’s words to Peter about the keys of the kingdom of heaven: the gold key the power in heaven, the silver the authority on earth. The gold and white go back to the colours of the Papal States in the nineteenth century, and the flag in its present form was adopted on 7 June 1929, when the Lateran Treaty created the independent state of Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. The official flag is square, but ours come in the same rectangular sizes as the rest of the range, so a Vatican City flag hangs neatly beside a Union Jack or a parish banner.

Papal occasions, feast days and Catholic Britain

The papal flag is above all a Catholic flag rather than a national one. Parishes, cathedrals and Catholic schools in the UK fly it for the election and inauguration of a new pope, as many did in May 2025 when Pope Leo XIV was chosen, and for papal anniversaries, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul on 29 June, First Holy Communions, confirmations and parish jubilees. It was everywhere during the papal visits to Britain in 1982 and 2010, and it travels with pilgrimage groups to Rome, Lourdes and Walsingham. Catholic chaplaincies, Knights of St Columba councils and Catholic societies at universities order it too, and it is a common choice for World Youth Day groups heading abroad.

Sizes, grades and fittings

The Vatican flag is stocked in four sizes: 20x12in, 3ft x 2ft, 5ft x 3ft and 8ft x 5ft. A 5ft x 3ft suits a church flagpole; a 3ft x 2ft fits a school hall or a sanctuary wall; the 8ft x 5ft is for a cathedral mast or a large procession. Flagtex is the lighter printed polyester for indoor and occasional use, DuraFlag the stronger knitted grade with double hems. Brass eyelets are standard, with clips or rope and toggle available on DuraFlag.

Vatican City bunting

Vatican City bunting repeats the gold-and-white keys flag on rectangular pennants, 3m for a classroom or a parish noticeboard and 9m to dress a church hall for a First Communion or a feast day party. Printed on both sides, it can go outside for a procession.

Hand flags and table flags

Vatican hand flags on wooden sticks, in 9x6in and 18x12in, are bought in quantity by schools and pilgrimage groups. The Vatican table flag is 6x4in with a base for a presbytery desk, and the large wooden table flag at 18x12in suits a school office or reception. Italy, San Marino, Malta and Ireland are under world flags.

Vatican City flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Vatican City Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, Flagtex or DuraFlag)from £6.99
• Vatican City Bunting (3m or 9m)from £9.98
• Vatican City Hand Flags (9x6in, 18x12in)from £5.99
• Vatican City Table Flag 6x4in with Basefrom £1.98
• Vatican City Large Wooden Table Flagfrom £3.98