The treasury of the Church: movable and immovable property. All this and much more represents the wealth of the smallest state in the world, united under a single papal seal.
Every man is struck by the beauty of St. Peter. Gold and silver propagate with immense force, filling every space visible to the visitor’s eye. The idea of a meek and poor Christ, who becomes the spokesperson for a model of life detached from material goods, is in stark contrast to the luxury that the Vatican flaunts.
It is an immeasurable heritage of incalculable value collected in about two thousand years of history: works of art, historic buildings, churches, convents, investments in shares and donations. Many of these things, such as: masterpieces of architecture and painting constitute a legacy for the whole of humanity, but their management is the exclusive competence of the Vatican.
Rivers of ink have been spilled, fueling false myths about this treasure as well. If, while visiting the Apostolic Palaces with your eyes lost in looking at Raphael’s frescoes, you thought: what is the value of what surrounds me? Or if you have tried to quantify the patrimony of the Church and you have asked yourself: how much money does the Vatican have ? This article, most likely, can solve some of your doubts. Let us briefly try to quantify this wealth.
How much is the Vatican treasury
Answering this question is difficult for two factors: the data are difficult to find and the ones we have are complex to evaluate. Despite this difficulty we try. According to statistics, the total fortune of the Church is around ten billion euros, distributed between movable and immovable property. To this amount must then be added the possessions of religious congregations and the various structures: hospitals, universities etc. A figure that is significant, regardless of any variation due, for example, to market trends.
To deepen the subject we must focus our attention on the bodies responsible for managing the entire assets. The administration, given the conspicuity of the capital, is divided among several legal entities. Before doing this, however, we must clarify what is meant by the Vatican or the Church. These terms are often confused.
What is the Catholic Church
If you type this word on google or any search engine you realize that sometimes there is no difference between concepts such as: Catholic Church , Vatican City and Holy See .
The Catholic Church is the sum of the dioceses and parishes scattered over the entire planet. The national episcopal and ecclesiastical circumscriptions constitute the Italian Catholic Church. Its primary source of income is the eight per thousand that taxpayers allocate to it at the time of drafting the tax return . This amount (about one billion euros) is managed entirely by the Catholic Church and not by the Vatican [1] .
The economic resource is used for the maintenance of the clergy and for the works of charity not only homegrown such as, for example, canteens created for the poor and shelters scattered all over the world.
What is the Vatican
In an improper way we speak of the Vatican to indicate it State of the Vatican City .
Born in 1929 with the so-called Lateran Pacts, it is geographically located in the territory of Italy, but it is independent of it. Signs of this autonomous nature are: the Head of State, the Government, territorial borders, money, the bank, a legal system and even the army (Swiss Guards). When we speak of the Vatican City State, we refer to a territorial entity over which sovereignty is exercised: the Supreme Pontiff formally embodies this power. formally embodies this power . Next to this figure, eminent not only from the spiritual point of view, there is the Holy See or Apostolic See. Previous also to the Vatican City, the Holy See influences the economic capacity of the sovereign (the Pope), to the point of making it non-existent.
What is the Holy See
One often wonders if the Pope has money that he can dispose of in a personal way. Every head of state of any country receives a salary. In this case it is a real king with absolute powers. So from a nineteenth-century perspective, the answer is positive. In reality, things are very different because he enjoys what he needs to live and nothing more. Everything (for example any proceeds deriving from the sale of images that portray him, books and so on) belongs to the Holy See.
The Pontiff is part of the Holy See, but does not represent it. According to canon law – which is the normative body that regulates the life of the Vatican – both the Holy Father and his collaborators are included in the concept of the Apostolic See [2] . It is a legal entity, recognized by international law, which represents the Catholic Church and the Vatican City. Diplomatic relations with other States are maintained only by this body through the Apostolic Nuncios.
The Papal See and the Vatican State together constitute the Curia which, as linked to the territory of Rome, is called Roman.
Who manages the assets
As in every company there are various offices which, with different tasks, carry out the activities in a productive way; this is how the Vatican is conceived as well. A large joint-stock company, where the various sectors deal, in various capacities, with investments and the production of money. Among the most important are: the Secretariat of State , the APSA , lo IOR .
The Secretariat of State is a Ministry of Finance which, established in 2014, has and controls a cash of approximately seven hundred million euros. This sum, which must be invested, includes palaces and structures also located abroad, in addition to the so-called Obolo di San Pietro . These are offerings made to the Pope for the celebration of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul on June 29 or close to this date by the faithful from all over the world: a collection that amounts to fifty million euros [3] .
The Apostolic Constitution [4] establishes that the administration of the assets owned by the Holy See, located outside the Vatican walls, belongs to the APSA ( Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See ). The data made public establish that the assets held by this body amount to three billion euros [5] .
Part of these real estate units (apartments and shops) were purchased and built after 1929. With the Lateran Pacts, the Italian government paid the Vatican State, including state shares and money, about two billion of the old lire as compensation. On the other hand, it is estimated that the assets acquired by the Italian State during the occupation of the Papal State far exceeded this sum.
Within the borders of the Vatican State, the buildings (Vatican Museums, Gendarmerie, etc.) are managed, including the income deriving from their visits by tourists, by the Governorate . The APSA also controls the Holy See’s ” portfolio ” of investments which is worth about one and a half billion euros.
And finally we come to the most controversial institution that has always aroused perplexity and controversy: the IOR .
The Institute for Works of Religion was at the center of scandals [6] . Founded in the late 1940s, the bank in question manages a package of five billion euros. Inside, the deposits of every religious body, congregation and everything that revolves around the Vatican or bears its seal converge.
Recently, under the influence of Pope Emeritus and Pope Francis, the institution has shrunk [7] . Proof of this is given by the number of customers which has decreased significantly. To make a contribution to this turnaround was the creation of two bodies that have the purpose of controlling financial flows: the Auditor General and the Aif – Financial Information Authority -. Their birth took place to contain the scandals that overwhelmed the bank and therefore the Church.
Whatever people say, the Vatican City has always represented a source of income for Italy. Its attractiveness from a tourist point of view cannot be underestimated. Every year a considerable number of people stay in Rome and visit the Vatican while being enveloped by its beauty. Despite the obvious contradictions if approached to the evangelical message of its founder, the Church is a point of reference for the spiritual life
