The Secretariat for the Economy ( it, Segreteria per l'economia) is a

dicastery A dicastery (from gr, δικαστήριον, dikastērion, law-court, from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') is the name of some departments of the Roman Curia. ''Pastor bonus'' ''Pastor bonus'' (1988), includes this definition: ''Praed ...

of the Roman Curia with authority over all economic activities of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and the

Vatican City State Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

Description

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

established the secretariat in a ''

motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term '' sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...

'', ''Fidelis dispensator et prudens'', published on 24 February 2014. It is headed by a

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

–originally a cardinal–who reports directly to the Pope. It is, after the Secretariat of State, the second dicastery named a ''secretariat'', an indication of its importance relative to other parts of the Curia. The seat of the secretariat is in Saint John's Tower in the Vatican Gardens. Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the inaugural prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers between 2013 an ...

, Archbishop of Sydney, was named the secretariat's first Prefect and "asked to start work as soon as possible". Pell said he would begin work at the Vatican "by the end of March." The Pope also announced the formation of a ''Council for the Economy'' to set policy guidelines for the secretariat and analyze its work. The council comprises eight cardinals or bishops and seven lay persons "with strong professional financial experience," chosen so that the body represents the global church. These members were named on 8 March. The council was headed by a Cardinal

Reinhard Marx Reinhard Marx (born 21 September 1953) is a German Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Pope Benedict XVI elevated Marx to the cardinalate in a consistory in 2010. Biograp ...

as coordinator. On 5 June 2015,

appointed

Libero Milone Libero Milone is a Netherlands-born Italian businessman who has held high-ranking positions at Deloitte and who was appointed by Pope Francis to be the first auditor-general of Holy See, the Vatican in 2015 before being forced to resign in 2017. P ...

Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Fre ...

. A meeting of the Council for the Economy was held in September 2014 to discuss the statutes of the new secretariat. The Council also discussed the transfer of responsibilities from the

Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA; it, Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica, link=no) is the office of the Roman Curia that deals with the "provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the fun ...

to the Secretariat for the Economy and the criteria for establishing a budgeting system. On 3 March 2014, Pope Francis appointed Monsignor Alfred Xuereb as the first General Secretary of the Secretariat. Xuereb later left this post in February 2018. On 22 March, Pope Francis appointed Monsignor

Brian Ferme Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...

, an Australian-born jurist and head of the St. Pius X Faculty of Canon Law in Venice, as the first Prelate Secretary of the Council that oversees the Secretariat. In a ''motu proprio'' issued on 9 July 2014 the responsibilities of the Secretariat for the Economy were extended considerably, since it decreed that the Ordinary Section of the

(APSA) is to be transferred to the Secretariat, giving the latter control over purchasing and human resources. In April 2021, a motu proprio mandated that certain senior Vatican appointees provide transparent information regarding their personal finances. Both the Secretariat and Council were given formal status in February 2015. On 5 June 2022, as provided for in the apostolic constitution ''

Praedicate evangelium ''Praedicate evangelium'' (''Preach the gospel'') is an apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia and was published and promulgated on 19 March 2022 by Pope Francis; the document took effect on 5 June 2022. It has fully abrogated ...

'' which took effect in that day, Prefect Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves notified the other Curial departments that he was creating within his Secretariat a Directorate for Human Resources to manage the human resources functions of the Roman Curia.

Membership

Members of the Secretariat include: *

Luigi Misto Luigi Mistò (born 24 June 1952) was the secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 7 July 2011 until 2015. He had previously served as Director of the Higher Institute of Re ...

, Acting Prefect *

, Coordinator *

Joseph F. X. Zahra Joseph F.X. Zahra (born December 3, 1955) is a Maltese people, Maltese economist. He has held a number of directorships in both private and public companies in Malta and abroad. He is a former director of the Central Bank of Malta and former cha ...

, Vice-Coordinator *

Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne (born 28 December 1943) is a Peruvian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Lima from 1999 to 2019. He has been a bishop since 1988 and was made a cardinal in 2001. Early life and career Cipriani atte ...

, Member *

Daniel DiNardo Daniel Nicholas DiNardo (born May 23, 1949) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the second and current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Houston serving since 2006. He previously served as bishop of the Di ...

, Member *

Wilfrid Napier Wilfrid Fox Napier OFM (born 8 March 1941) is a South African prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Durban from 1992 to 2021 and has been a cardinal since 2001. He served as Bishop of Kokstad from 1981 to 1992. Biograph ...

, Member *

Jean-Pierre Ricard Jean-Pierre Ricard (born 26 September 1944) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Bordeaux from 2001 to 2019. He has been a cardinal since 2006. He was previously Bishop of Montpellier for five years and before that ...

, Member *

Norberto Rivera Carrera Norberto Rivera Carrera (born 6 June 1942) is a Mexican prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who was archbishop of Mexico City from 1995 to 2017. He was made a cardinal in 1998. He was Bishop of Tehuacán from 1985 to 1995. Early life and mini ...

, Member *

John Tong Hon John Tong Hon (born 31 July 1939) is a Chinese prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal since 2012, he was auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong from 1996 to 2008, then coadjutor bishop of the diocese for a year, and Bishop of Hong Kong from 20 ...

, Member * Brian Edwin Ferme, secretary

Prefects

(24 February 2014 – 24 February 2019), on leave of absence from 29 June 2017 * Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, SJ, (appointed 14 November 2019, effective 1 January 2020 – 30 November 2022) * Maximino Caballero Ledo (appointed 30 November 2022, effective 1 December 2022 – present)

References

{{Holy See 2014 establishments in Vatican City Economy of Vatican City Government agencies established in 2014 Government of Vatican City

Economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with t ...

Financial regulatory authorities

Description

Membership

Prefects

See also

References