As Pope Leo XIV himself stated, he doesn’t have financial concerns that would keep him up at night. And judging by the financial performance of the Vatican during the first year of Leo’s papacy, especially the strong income of the Vatican bank and increased interest from American Catholic donors, there might be some reasons to feel relieved about the Vatican finances.
While talking to Elise Allen from Crux in an interview following Leo XIV’s election as the next pontiff, the future leader of the Catholic Church revealed his surprising attitude toward the financial issues plaguing the Holy See for decades:
“We have to keep working on it,” he said, “but it doesn’t keep me up at night.”
Vatican Finances Have Faced Decades of Trouble
The financial challenges of the Vatican have never been a new thing. From the infamous death of “God’s banker” Roberto Calvi in 1982 to the scandal with the Vatican buying a luxury property in London last year, it seems that financial issues are always on the Holy See agenda.
For example, the Holy See, which includes not only the Vatican curia but also the Vatican embassies around the world, operates with a consistent structural deficit, and, despite posting 1.6 million euro profit for the year of 2024, the Vatican still operates with the structural deficit equaling to approximately 44 million euro, or half of last year’s deficit.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Leo XIV takes over from his predecessor a situation with finances that is much better compared to that of previous popes. Moreover, the fact that Leo XIV is popular with American Catholics may result in more money being raised not just by the Vatican but also for the whole Catholic Church.
Vatican Bank Reports Strong Income Growth
According to the IOR report, in Leo XIV’s first year of serving as the pontiff, the institute recorded income growth equaling to 55.5%, the best rate compared to the previous ten years. As the press release claims, the net income for the IOR equals to 51 million euro, out of which 24.3 million euro were given to the Holy Father “to support works of religion and charity”.
The income growth is explained by the “improved operating performance” and “favorable market conditions”, the bank adds, stating that its activities comply with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
On the other hand, as Monsignor Martin Schlag suggests, Leo XIV, being born in America, reassured some of the potential donors of the Holy See about the transparency of the finances. The financial regulator of the Vatican, ASIF, said that its financial control systems have become mature, with increasing cooperation with authorities of other countries.
“He has a keen understanding of economics and financial management, and he seems to be a very sound administrator,” the priest says.
Donations Rise Under Pope Leo XIV
It is worth mentioning that the donations given to the Vatican and to the church’s charity initiatives have increased in the past year, following Leo XIV’s appointment as the pontiff. For example, the Papal Foundation, which consists of rich Catholics, predominantly born in America, who pledged themselves to donating $1 million each to the Catholic Church, announced a grant of $15 million, supporting 144 charitable projects in 75 different countries.
“This organization [Papal Foundation] has been really active during Leo XIV’s first year,” Schlag continues. “He has gone back to fundraising, I think. I think Francis was very reluctant to be a friend of the wealthy and the rich. He didn’t exclude them, but he didn’t cultivate their friendship, which is necessary if you want to raise funds from them.”
Michael J.L. La Civita, the director of communication and marketing of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Vatican agency responsible for providing humanitarian and pastoral aid to people in the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe, said that funding for CNEWA programs has been dramatically increasing over the past year.
“There’s definitely been an increase – or surge – in giving, largely associated with Pope Leo and his concerns about the dignity of all human beings,” he states.
The reason for that increase, according to La Civita, is the large number of humanitarian disasters that occur around the globe, with the ones taking place in Gaza, Lebanon, and Ethiopia having attracted special attention. Furthermore, the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development by the Trump administration has raised awareness regarding the Catholic Church’s efforts to help people.
As La Civita states:
“the dismantling of USAID by the Trump Administration has brought more awareness of Catholic humanitarian assistance,”
Moreover, Leo XIV, being a born citizen of Chicago and speaking with an American accent, helps raise donations, La Civita notes.
“I think that Leo XIV, being an American pontiff, speaks in a language that they clearly understand, and in words that they understand.”
Leo XIV Builds on Earlier Vatican Financial Reforms
However, the dramatic improvement in finances and increased donations of the Catholic Church is directly connected to the popularity of Leo XIV, who became the head of the Vatican. It should be noted that Leo XIV is continuing the trend started by his two predecessors.
When Pope Benedict XVI became the leader of the Catholic Church in 2005, he was dealing with an institution that was functional in theory, yet showed significant signs of decline. During the following years, the situation kept deteriorating, and, along with that, the donations received by the Vatican became drastically smaller due to the sexual abuse scandal.
During Benedict’s papacy, two measures were taken. The first Vatican anti-money laundering framework and financial oversight agency were created, as well as the permission for external audit of the Vatican finances and the creation of the commission for the Vatican bank reform.
When Francis became the next pontiff in 2013, the Holy See was facing a 24.47 million euro deficit, partially covered by Vatican City State’s budget. Furthermore, concerns about the transparency inside the Vatican bank, as well as the Holy See’s real estate assets and financial portfolio remained unsolved.
Under Francis, the Council for the Economy and the office of the auditor general were created. Francis also decided to centralize the investments made by the church and reduce waste inside the curia.
Old Questions About Transparency Remain
Despite the reforms initiated by Francis, there were some controversies related to finances and falling donations. For example, in 2018, there was a case when one of the investments made by the Vatican Secretariat of State resulted in the trial of 10 employees, Cardinal Angelo Becciu included. Furthermore, there was a rather cold relation between the Pope and the Papal Foundation, and, in the end, donations to Peter’s Pence, the official channel through which laymen can give donations in support of humanitarian work, decreased to only half of the 83 million euro received after the papal election in 2014.
La Civita suggests that, despite an increase in donations:
“American Catholic donors, in particular, are increasingly more concerned about issues of transparency and accountability and fiscal responsibility than they have been in the past.”
Nevertheless, Leo XIV, thanks to the great approval in which he is now held around the globe, as well as the continued work on improving financial matters of the Vatican, which began from the time of Pope Benedict XVI, may enjoy relative stability in finances.
However, it remains unclear how long it will last since, in order to preserve stability, Leo XIV must take care of transparency and accountability, without which the Vatican might return to the times of its financial trouble. The reports regarding the financial portfolio of the Holy See, as well as upcoming reports on Peter’s Pence, will serve as an indicator.
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