The flag consists of two vertical bands, one of gold (hoist side) and one of white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the Papal Tiara centered in the white band. The crossed keys consist of a golden and a silver key, in which the silver key is placed in the dexter position. The flag is one of only two square country flags in the world, the other being the flag of Switzerland.
The Vatican City coat of arms can be found in the white half. The coat of arms consists of:
* the papal tiara (as used under the pontificate of Pius XI);
* the two keys which represent the keys to Heaven (according to the Gospel of Matthew 16:19) given by Jesus Christ to St. Peter. The popes are regarded as the successor of Peter, and the gold and silver keys have been significant elements in the symbolism of the Papal State since the 13th century. The gold represents spiritual power, while the silver key represents worldly power.
* a red cord connecting the keys.
The yellow and white of the flag also refer to the keys – in heraldic terminology, there is no distinction between yellow and gold (the metallic color or), nor between white and silver (argent).
The flag is flown or displayed worldwide in Roman Catholic churches and institutions, usually alongside the national flag of where the church or institution is located.
The flag of the Holy See
As stated above, the flag of the Vatican City State shows the arms with the silver key in the dexter position. In case of the flag of the Holy See, which is not the same as the Vatican City State, the keys are reversed. When the Vatican City State was established in 1929, the keys in the arms of the Holy See, which shows the gold one in dexter position, were reversed to provide a distinctive symbol for the new state. In the personal arms of the popes, the keys are arranged as in the arms of the Holy See. The opposite arrangement would be equivalent to treating him as merely the head of that little state.
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