Vatican reveals property holdings for the first
time
Landmark disclosure lists over 5,100 properties.
Pope
Francis in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican | Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images
BY GABRIELA
GALINDO
July 24,
2021 6:58 pm
The Vatican
on Saturday made public for the first time information about its real estate
holdings, revealing that it owns more than 5,100 properties, mainly in Italy.
The
publication marks one of the most detailed disclosures of Vatican assets ever.
It lists 4,051 properties in Italy and 1,120 abroad, not including the Vatican’s
embassies.
The
information was published in two documents, totaling more than 50 pages of
financial records: a 2020 consolidated financial statement and the first-ever
public records of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA),
which manages the Church’s payroll, real estate and investments.
Records
show APSA owns investment properties in upscale neighborhoods in Paris, Geneva
and Lausanne, as well as in London, where the purchase of one property in the
South Kensington district led to enormous losses in 2014.
The
information was released ahead of a trial next Tuesday looking into the
purchase of the London property by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.
Ten people,
including prominent Cardinal Angelo Becciu, are on trial in connection with its
purchase. Some face charges including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud,
extortion and abuse of office.
A majority
of the Vatican’s properties in Italy are rented at reduced rates to Church
staff. About 40 percent are institutional buildings such as convents, but also
schools and hospitals, according to Reuters.
The
documents also show that the Roman Curia, the Catholic Church’s central
administration, ran up a deficit of €64.8 million in 2020. Vatican officials
were reported blaming the coronavirus pandemic for a negative impact on
finances.
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