When two pieces of news arrive on Vatican finances, it is worth stopping for a moment: understanding where the economic machine of the Holy See is going, what priorities it is setting, and how a delicate balance between tradition and reforms is redefined. And this is precisely the picture that imposes itself today, with a drastic decision by Leo XIV (but not all that surprising, as we will see) on the one hand and, on the other, a further leap in transparency by the IOR.
The suppression of the Commissio de Donationibus
With a chirograph signed on 29 September and distributed on 4 December, Leo XIV put an end – after less than ten months – to the Commissio de Donations bus pro Sancta Sede created last February 11th by Pope Francis. An organization designed to encourage donations from the faithful, Episcopal Conferences and benefactors, and to raise funds for projects of the Curia and the Governorate.
The Commission, made up of five members and led by Monsignor Roberto Campisi, was born with a clear mandate: “to encourage donations with specific campaigns” and to support various Vatican institutions in raising funding. In short, a structure projected on global fundraising, in an era in which the Church must reconcile charity, mission and budgets.
The unsecured document cancels the approved Statute to experimental repeals the acts adopted so far and evaluate the immediate termination of all members. The assets of the Commission are “destined to the Holy See”, with the president of APSA, Monsignor Giordano Piccinotti, delegated – with the power to subdelegate – to proceed with the liquidation of the body.
The text attributes the change of course to the assessments of the Council for the Economy, which analyzed the issue of donations in light of the art. 207 of Praedicate Evangelium : protection of assets, asset risks, resources managed “with prudence, efficiency and transparency”. The Council – after having “positively evaluated the first steps” – however recommended a remodeling of the entire structure dedicated to fundraising. The motivation is quite peaceful: in the Vatican there is already a structure created to collect donations to the Holy Father that arrive from all over the world: Peter’s Pence, a sort of Vatican “third bank” (but it is just a name of convenience, very journalistic, because these are financial institutions that almost never grant loans but administer finances), after the ordinary and extraordinary Apsa and the IOR. It was a question of avoiding a duplication, which arose as mentioned to experimental, or to verify whether the conditions existed for a second body responsible for collecting funds.
At this point the Secretariat for the Economy and an ad hoc working group enter the scene: they will have to resolve the remaining issues, inform the Council for the Economy and above all formulate proposals for a new architecture of Vatican fundraising. The Council will again indicate the names, to be submitted to the Pope via the Secretariat of State.
The political signal is clear: Leo XIV wants a more streamlined structure, governed from above, with more defined controls and responsibilities. A reorganization in line with modern asset management standards and with the drive for transparency of recent pontificates.
The IOR raises the bar of transparency: sustainability and Basel 3
The second news also arrives today: the IOR publishes the first Sustainability Report and the first Information equivalent to the Third Pillar of Basel (Pillar III). A double document that aligns it with the international principles adopted by the most regulated financial institutions on the planet. For observers, another response to those who for years have looked at the IOR as an opaque exception compared to global standards.
The Sustainability Report photographs an economic model inspired by Catholic ethics, with a dual materiality matrix built according to the logic of Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive European Union (CSRD) and indicators based on the GRI Standards. It is the first time that the Institute systematically makes public how it intersects investments, religious mission, ESG criteria and social responsibility. Although the practice of drawing up an “ethical” balance sheet, for example with titles that exclude weapons industries or other non-compliant companies, dates back to the 1990s.
In 2024 the IOR definitively excluded investments contrary to Catholic principles and obtained returns in compliance with its internal ethics: all Asset Management products comply with the ethical-Catholic criteria. There is no shortage of numbers: net profit of 31 million euros, total economic value generated of 50 million – distributed between the Holy Father (27%), employees (30%) and suppliers (18%) – while 157 million is the value created for the entrusted assets.
Alongside the budget data there is training: 200 customers involved in six days dedicated to financial education, with a prevalence of religious congregations; over 2,600 hours of employee training on ethical, anti-money laundering, finance, security and sustainability topics.
And there it is compliance or reliability: a system against corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing; compliance with international tax standards (including FATCA and the agreement with Italy); cybersecurity aligned with ISO 31000, 27001, 27005 standards, with precise policies on operational continuity.
On the environmental front, the financial Vatican shows a change of pace: dematerialization of documents (-20% of paper in a year) and 98.9% of energy coming from renewable sources.
Two moves, one direction
The suppression of the Donations Commission and the publication of the IOR documents appear to be two distinct facts. In reality they are the sign of the same trajectory: shortening decision-making chains, eliminating superstructures, measuring and reporting according to standards that speak to a global world. Leo
Two financial news, yes. But also a photograph of a thousand-year-old institution that is updating its tools without denying its genetic code: safeguarding assets, serving the universal Church, ad maiorem Dei Gloriam responding rigorously to a changing world.
