The Vatican disclosed its real estate holdings for the first time on Saturday, announcing that it owns more than 5,000 properties, marking the most detailed financial disclosures in the history of the Vatican. The information was presented in two documents: the first is a consolidated financial statement for the Holy See for 2020, and the second is the first-ever general budget for the management of ecclesiastical property and the legacy of the Holy See (APSA).
APSA operates similarly to public accounting offices and is responsible for managing properties and investments, paying salaries, and functioning as a procurement office and human resources department for the Vatican. The Vatican released more than 50 pages of financial materials through the two documents, which include an unprecedented number of charts, graphs, maps, and informative interviews.
The 30-page budget for APSA showed that the Vatican owns 4,051 properties in Italy and approximately 1,120 properties abroad, excluding its embassies around the world. About 14% of the Vatican’s Italian properties are rented at market rates, while the other properties are rented at reduced rates, many of which are to church employees. Approximately 40% of the Vatican’s properties are institutional buildings such as schools, monasteries, and hospitals.
APSA's documents reveal that the Vatican owns properties and has investments in upscale areas of London, Geneva, Lausanne, and Paris. The Vatican incurred significant losses after the Secretariat of State approved the purchase of a building in South Kensington, London as an investment in 2014.
Last Tuesday, a trial began in the Vatican for 10 individuals related to this purchase, including a prominent cardinal. They are accused of financial crimes including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, extortion, and abuse of office. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the Vatican's revenues in 2020, as St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums, which had welcomed about 6 million paying visitors in 2019, were closed.
