The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) published its annual report last week. APSA is responsible for the administration and management of real estate and movable property of the Holy See. According to L'Osservatore Romano, the document highlights the 32.37 million euros contributed by the organization to the total operational budget of the Vatican in 2022.

In the apostolic constitution "Praedicate Evangelium," published almost a year ago, Pope Francis indicates that "through understandable, effective, and transparent procedures, APSA is called to contribute to the evangelizing mission of the Church."

In this regard, Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, President of APSA, stated, "We are all convinced today that the Church's reputation in managing what is entrusted to it by the generosity of the faithful is a prerequisite for the credibility of its message." Thus, "one of the reasons justifying the publication of the balance sheet for the third consecutive year." In the report, the bishop wrote, "The transparency of figures, achievements, and defined procedures is one of the tools at our disposal to dispel unfounded suspicions about the extent of the Church's assets, its administration, or the fulfillment of duties of justice, such as the payment of due taxes and other levies."

According to Archbishop Galantino, due to the "uncertain global economic outlook, APSA maintained a conservative investment policy," and he added that "—like any other country in Europe— the Vatican suffered negative economic consequences from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine." After realizing gains of 20 million euros in 2021 from investments in stocks, bonds, gold, and currencies, APSA lost over 6 million euros with its investments in 2022, according to the report. However, it gained over 52 million euros from its real estate holdings. The report also highlights the 6 million euros paid by APSA for direct and indirect taxes resulting from the management and ownership of real estate in Italian territory. The report specifies that the payment of taxes to the Italian State was made on "properties not strictly used for religious purposes."

In total, for the fiscal year 2022, the Vatican paid 6.05 million euros for the Single Municipal Tax (IMU) and 2.91 million euros for the Corporate Income Tax (IRES), of which, only through APSA, it paid 4.65 million for IMU and 2.01 million for IRES.

Archbishop Galantino also pointed out that the Vatican granted rent reductions of 30% to 50% to some individuals and small businesses during and immediately after the COVID-19 quarantines in 2020, in response to Pope Francis's concern that people would not lose their jobs during the pandemic. Now, the bishop expressed, the office is working to convince non-paying tenants to fulfill their obligations. The report states that APSA directly manages 4072 properties, including churches, Vatican administrative buildings, Vatican residences for officials, and apartments rented to Holy See workers. It also includes spaces for commercial offices and farmland. Only 19% of the properties are leased on the open market, and 12% are rented, at very low costs, to Vatican employees. The rest is used by Holy See officials and religious orders.

The Vatican's real estate assets include 473 plots of land, including 112 cultivated for hay, grain, or other agricultural products, and 28 olive groves.

APSA estimated the total value of the assets it controls at over 2.8 billion euros (slightly over 3 billion dollars). Regarding this, Archbishop Galantino wrote that "the Church, in its centuries-old history, thanks to the generosity of the faithful, has been able to have the necessary resources to continue the mission entrusted to it by Jesus." APSA provides for the ordinary activity of the Roman Curia, dealing with treasury, accounting, purchases, and other services. The organization has a President, who is assisted by a Secretary and a Council, composed of Cardinals, bishops, priests, and laypeople, who assist in formulating the entity's strategic lines and evaluating its results.

This article was originally published on ACI Prensa.