4,051 Properties in Italy and 1,200 Abroad: The Vatican Opens Its Real Estate Books for the First Time

• The Vatican’s property office published its budget summary for the first time in 2021
• It directly manages 4,051 properties in Italy and about 1,200 in London, Paris, Geneva and Lausanne
• Profits fell to nearly €22 million in 2020 from €73.21 million in 2019
• Rents were cut for businesses struggling during the pandemic

The Vatican office that manages the Holy See’s assets published a summary of its budget for the first time in July 2021, revealing a global real estate portfolio, America magazine reported on July 26, 2021, in a Catholic News Service report by Junno Arocho Esteves.

The Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA) directly manages 4,051 properties in Italy and oversees about 1,200 more in London, Paris, Geneva and Lausanne. Its president, Bishop Nunzio Galantino, described the release as “a step forward in the direction of transparency and sharing”. The disclosure came as Cardinal Angelo Becciu and nine others faced an embezzlement trial linked to a failed London property investment.

APSA reported profits of nearly €22 million in 2020, down from €73.21 million in 2019, largely because of pandemic losses. The office responded by reducing rents for struggling businesses in its properties.

The portfolio also funds charity. Income from properties in Paris and London helps the papal almoner’s office provide rent-free space to the Community of Sant’Egidio at Palazzo Migliori near St Peter’s Basilica, where shelters and soup kitchens serve Rome’s poor. Galantino said the aim of publishing the figures was to promote a new culture of financial responsibility and transparency.

For Jamaica’s churches, many of which also own rental property, halls and land that could earn income, the Vatican’s disclosure is a reminder that property is only as good as the way it is managed and reported. Rent reductions for struggling tenants, income directed to charity and published accounts are all choices a church landlord can make. Members and donors, at home and in the diaspora, are more likely to support a church whose property holdings and returns are out in the open.

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