Pope Leo XIV introduces significant reform to Holy See’s investments

Last week, Pope Leo XIV introduced a significant reform to the financial architecture of the Holy See.

With the motu proprio Coniuncta Cura, (“Shared Responsibility”) the Holy Father revoked the exclusive right that the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR by its Italian acronym) — popularly known as the “Vatican Bank” — had until then for investment management, opening the door to the use of other foreign financial intermediaries if deemed more efficient or appropriate.

The new regulations do not seek to remove investments from the Vatican purview but rather to open the possibility of management to accredited financial intermediaries.

“If there is a sum to be invested, it was previously done only through the IOR; but now it can also be done through the APSA [Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See]. This does not mean that investments will be made outside [of the Vatican] but rather that external financial organizations can step in to assist the Vatican,” Mimmo Muolo, an expert on Holy See finances and a journalist for the Italian Bishops’ Conference’s newspaper, Avvenire, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

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