The Collaborative International Dictionary
Vatican \Vat"i*can\, n. [L. Vaticanus, mons, or collis, Vaticanus, the Vatican hill, in Rome, on the western bank of the Tiber: cf. F. Vatican, It. Vaticano.] A magnificent assemblage of buildings at Rome, near the church of St. Peter, including the pope's palace, a museum, a library, a famous chapel, etc.
Note: The word is often used to indicate the papal authority.
Thunders of the Vatican, the anathemas, or denunciations, of the pope.
Usage examples of "thunders of the vatican".
Yet Frederic the Second was finally oppressed by the arms of the Lombards and the thunders of the Vatican: his kingdom was given to a stranger, and the last of his family was beheaded at Naples on a public scaffold.
In France, the thunders of the Vatican with regard to long curly hair were hardly more respected than in England.