Vatican cultural activities boost profits for city

Final budget figures released Thursday for the Vatican city-state, which includes the post office, museums and other activities, showed its surplus surge to 63.5 million euros ($69 million) last year from 33 million euros a year earlier.

Most of the Holy See’s departments in Rome and also embassies around the world reported a budget deficit of €25.6 million, similar to the €24.4 million euro the previous year. The inclusion of the “tucked away” funds of €1.114 billion meant net assets increased by almost €939 million, about a third of total assets.

In a statement, The Vatican said that department heads had been “asked to ensure they had included all assets and liabilities and provide appropriate certification as to [their] completeness and accuracy”.

The financial statement was presented at the Council for the Economy meeting earlier this week by Cardinal Pell and the staff from the Secretariat for the Economy.

In the Statements released in the Vatican on Wednesday emphasized that 2014 was a year of transition to the new Financial Management policies.

As part of the financial reforms that Pope Francis has made a major goal of his pontificate, the 2014 statements are supposed to offer a more complete picture of assets and liabilities, verified by external auditors. However, the Vatican noted, “had the same accounting treatment applied in 2014 been applied in 2013, the 2013 deficit would have been reported as €37.209 million”.

The journey of transition to new policies is progressing well and the Secretariat was pleased to report high levels of interest and cooperation in the entities. The Vatican also reported 21 million euros in contributions from Roman Catholic dioceses and 50 million euros from the Vatican bank.

The increase in the Governorate’s surplus was “largely due to continued strong revenue from the cultural activities – especially the Museums – and favorable movements in investments”, the statement said. The July 16 statement from the Vatican indicated that the process of converting all Vatican accounts to the new financial standards may take several years.

The largest single item in the Holy See budget was “personnel”. The Vatican said the statement revealed “the first important steps” taken by Cardinal Pell.

Staffing costs weighed most heavily on the Holy See’s budget, costing 126.6 million for a staff of 2,880 at 64 Holy See entities.