Mary McClintock, age 13, of Prescott, Ariz., for her question:

HOW LARGE IS THE PAPAL PALACE IN THE VATICAN?

Vatican City is a 109 acre enclave within the city of Rome, Italy, and is under•the absolute authority of the pope. Located in Vatican City is the gigantic edifice called the Palace of the Vatican, or the Papal Palace. It is actually a complex of buildings containing more than 1,000 rooms.

Those rooms include the papal apartments, government offices of the Roman Catholic church, several chapels and museums and a library. The most famous portion of the palace, perhaps, is the Sistine Chapel with its great ceiling frescoes painted by Michelangelo.

Also in the palace are the famous Raphael's Rooms, papal apartments with frescos painted by the great Italian artist Raphael.

The Vatican Library has a priceless collection of ancient manuscripts as well as more than 900,000 bound volumes.

The outstanding museums include the Gregorian Museum of Egyptian Art, the Gregorian Museum of Etruscan Art, the Pio Clementino Museum, with an outstanding collection of antiquities, the Chiaramonti Museum and the Vatican Pinacoteca, with works by a representative group of Italian masters.

Vatican City is situated on Vatican Hill in northwest Rome, just west of the Tiber River. It is surrounded by medieval and Renaissance walls and has six gates. Many of the most renowned artists and architects of the Italian Renaissance were commissioned by popes to work on the palace and other Vatican buildings.

Even more imposing and important than the Papal Palace is St. Peter's Basilica. Built mostly between the 15th and 17th centuries, and designed by such artists as Bramante, Michelangelo and Bernini, St. Peter's is the world center of Roman Catholic worship. In front of the basilica is the great Piazza San Pietro, or St. Peter's Square.

Vatican City was established in 1929 under terms of the Lateran Treaty, concluded by the Italian government and the papacy after many years of controversy. The treaty, which recognized the full sovereignty of the Holy See within the state of Vatican City, was incorporated into the constitution of the republic of Italy, promulgated in 1947.

Vatican City is governed by the pope, who has absolute executive, legistlative and judicial powers. The executive powers are delegated to a governor, who is responsible directly to the pope.

In the exercise of his legislative powers, the pope is advised and assisted by the Sacred College of Cardinals and by the various Sacred Congregations.

The judicial powers are exercised by tribunals. Appeals from their decisions are heard by the sacred Roman Rota and by the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature.

The Secretariat of State represents the Holy See in diplomatic relations with foreign powers. Internal security and protection of the pope is maintained by the Swiss Guards.