The President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State is the leader of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, the legislative body of Vatican City. As a senior member of the Roman Curia, the president is normally a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. A legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. ... The Roman Curia is the complex of the organs and the authorities that constitute the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Roman Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals, during a consistory. ... The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian body with over 1. ...

During a sede vacante, the term of the president ends, as do most other offices in the Curia. However, the cardinal that held the office prior to the death or resignation of the pope becomes a member of a Commission, with the former Cardinal Secretary of State and the Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, that handles some of the functions of the head of state until a new pope can be chosen. Sede vacante in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church is the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... The Cardinal Secretary of State presides over the Secretariat of State, which is the most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. ... The title Camerlengo ( Italian for Chamberlain) refers to an official of the Papal court, referring either to the Chamberlain of the Roman Catholic Church, to the Chamberlain of the Sacred College of Cardinals, or to various lesser dignitaries. ... Though a term originally coined for Republican presidents, a head of state or chief of state is now universally known as the chief public representative of a nation-state, federation or commonwealth, whose role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising the political powers, functions...

Prior to the death of Pope John Paul II, the President was Edmund Cardinal Szoka, the retired Archbishop of Detroit and current Governor of Vatican City. Pope Benedict XVI reapointed Cardinal Szoka to the position on April 21, 2005. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City and of the Holy See for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his... Edmund Casimir Cardinal Szoka (born September 14, 1927) is Archbishop emeritus of Detroit, Michigan, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, and President of the Governatorate of Vatican City. ... As of 2003, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit covers the City of Detroit as well as Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. ... The Governor of Vatican City is concurrently the President of the Governatorate of Vatican City and sometimes called the President of Vatican City. ... His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: ; born April 16, 1927 as Joseph Alois Ratzinger in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria) is the 265th reigning pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City. ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ...