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
Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations is the representative of the Holy See at the United Nations. The diplomatic mission does not have the status of Permanent Representative and thus cannot vote — a decision it has freely taken. The Holy See has sat in the UN as a non-voting delegation with permanent observer state status since 1964, and is one of two states with this status, the other being the State of Palestine. The Permanent Observer, currently Archbishop Bernardito Auza, as of 1 July