Orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See of the Catholic Church by his authority as head of the Holy See and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Historically, membership in these orders was either conferred by Papal bulls not signed by the Pope or by apostolic letters signed by the Pope himself. Since the reforms of these orders in the beginning of the 20th century, the diplomas have been signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State. In general, "Papal orders of knighthood" refers to the five equestrian orders of the Holy See awarded directly by the Supreme Pontiff as head of the Catholic Church, Holy See and
Protectorate of the Holy See Protectorate of the Holy See At the San Remo conference (19-26 April 1920), the Mandate for Palestine was allocated to Great Britain. France required the continuation of its religious protectorate in Palestine but Italy and Great Britain opposed it. France lost the religious protectorate, but, thanks to the Holy See, continued to enjoy liturgical honors in Mandatory Palestine until 1924, when the honors were abolished. The precise boundaries of all territories, including that of the British Mandate for Palestine, were left unspecified, to "be determined by the Principal Allied Powers". During that time, the British were in control of Palestine