A sacerdotal state is a state whose head is also an ecclesiastical leader designated by a religious body. An example of this kind of state is the Vatican City - its heads of state, the popes of the Catholic Church, have governed papal lands distinct from secular authority since the eighth century CE. Andorra operates under a semi-sacerdotal system, as one of its co-heads of state is the bishop of Urgell, while the other is the president of France. However unlike the Vatican, the co-princes of Andorra are not closely involved in the government.
Vatican City's head of state and the head of government since the eighth century is the Pope, who is the head of the Catholic Church, with the current pope being Pope Francis (pictured).
Image: Mons. Vives (30612833490)
Image: Emmanuel Macron (cropped)
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State, is a landlocked sovereign country, city-state, microstate, and enclave within Rome, Italy. It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and it is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains the city-state's temporal power and governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. The Vatican is also a metonym for the pope, Holy See, and Roman Curia.
Vatican City
The Vatican obelisk in St. Peter's Square was brought to Rome from Egypt by Caligula
Musicians of the British Army's 38th (Irish) Brigade playing in front of St. Peter's Basilica in June 1944
View of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome