The Vatican is the official headquarters of the
Roman Catholic Church as well as the residence of the pope.
The word Vatican is from the Latin vaticanus, which means hill, but the term Vatican also
refers to the authority and jurisdiction of the Pope.
The Vatican runs very much like a government, appointing its own ambassadors as well as
receiving ambassadors from other countries.
It is recognized by world powers and most nations have ambassadors there.
So how influential is this small city-state?
That’s what we’ll be looking at today, in this episode of The Infographics Show:
How Much Power Does the Vatican Have?
Before we explore the power of this huge religious institution, let’s first look at its history.
Vatican City was founded in 1929, following the signing of the Lateran Pacts, a treaty
and financial agreement between the Holy See, an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic
Church, and the Kingdom of Italy.
It's not only home to the Pope, but also a raft of iconic art and rich architecture,
including the Sistine Chapel- famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling.
As a sovereign state, it is recognized under international law, so though Vatican City
is situated slap bang in the middle of Rome, you can think of it like a mini country with
its own jurisdiction.
The Vatican has a judge, a tribunal, an appeals court, and a Supreme Court.
These were all put into effect in November 1987, and their role is to serve and exercise
authority in the name of the Pope.
Vatican City has a population of 1,000, most of whom are working as part of the church-
Cardinals and Bishops, members of the Curia, seminarian students, and visiting clergy.
The Vatican is not just a center of the Catholic religion, it’s the center of government
for Catholicism.
So where does the pope fit in?
The Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church worldwide, so if the Vatican was a business,
he could be likened to a CEO.
Or if The Vatican were a government, then he would be The President.
The College of Cardinals elects the Pope, and he holds all legislative, executive, and
judicial powers.
The current pope is Pope Francis, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
He was elected as the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013.
He is Argentinian and the first pope from the Americas.
Ok, that’s enough history on the Vatican and its spiritual leader.
So how powerful is this religious giant?
Although many consider the Vatican to be a spiritual kingdom, it is actually far more
than that.
Unlike any other church, as we explained, the Vatican is an independent state which
puts it in a unique position.
Just like a big business with cash to spend, the Vatican has assets including land and
real estate in many different countries, and as a result it has influence worldwide.
And because it’s a church, its assets and income are tax-free.
According to an article on The Nasdaq, or American stock exchange, The Vatican Bank
manages $64 billion of assets on behalf of its 17,400 customers.
It owns $764 million in equity, and keeps gold reserves worth over $20 million with
the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Until very recently, the Vatican’s banking system has resisted pressure for financial
transparency, arguing that its church status made it exempt from external audits or investigations.
But in the last few years, there has been more scrutiny on the churches finances, and
with so much wealth at stake, it’s maybe not a complete surprise that The Vatican Bank
is often at the center of scandal and corruption charges.
Cleaning up the bank has been a focus area for Pope Francis, who labeled his intentions
as part of an "honesty and transparency" campaign.
Officially, Vatican Bank accounts are only meant to be held by residents of Vatican City
and church personnel, but according to Gerald Posner, a Vatican bank scholar and the author
of "God's Bankers," there are also powerful Italian officials who have accounts with the
Vatican Bank so they can hold money without paying taxes.
In recent years, the bank has closed over 4,000 accounts in an effort to eradicate this
corruption.
Another shady case with the Vatican was when the Vatican bank released its 2014 financial
statements announcing that it had more than $1.2 billion in assets that weren't on the
previous balance sheet.
That’s a big number for the accountant to miss!
What else did we learn about the Vatican from these balance sheets?
The Vatican has two main entities, The Holy See, and Vatican City State.
The Holy See reported a deficit of $27.9 million in 2014, even though it received over $58
million from the Vatican Bank.
But then it does have a large staff payroll with its 2,880 employees absorbing a total
of $147 million off the bottom line of that 2014 balance sheet.
The Vatican City State is responsible for running the Vatican Museums, and in 2014 had
a surplus of $74 million, so that makes up for some of those staff losses.
Tourism is also a major component of the church’s success.
According to Vatican figures there are estimated to be 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world.
Many of these people travel to see the grand architecture, the museums housing ancient
artifacts, and of course catch a glimpse of The Pope.
Vatican City is a tourist hot spot and visitation has tripled under the popular Pope Francis.
Between 2013 and 2015, more than 12 million people visited the Vatican for events featuring
the Pope.
And those figures are only for events inside the Vatican.
Pope Francis also travels, garnering as many as 13 million additional visitors flocking
to see him in other places.
All this helps to spread the influence of the Pope and the church.
The Vatican has even managed to reap some rental revenue, when in October 2014 the Sistine
Chapel was rented out for the first time to the automaker Porsche for a corporate charity
event.
Forty Porsche enthusiasts, at a cost of $5,900 per head, were the first group of people treated
to a private tour under the Vatican's new program: Pope Francis' Art for Charity project.
The Porsche clients enjoyed a private concert while admiring the famous ceiling painted
by Michelangelo.
A far cry from what the Sistine Chapel's normal 20,000 daily visitors get, which is a quick
glance at the chapel before they're rushed out of the door.
Though there is a lot more transparency with the Vatican, it’s still not easy to get
the kind of information you would with a publically listed company, where everything is shared
online.
What we do know is that much of the cash and assets are distributed around the world, even
including large sums of money held in Swiss Bank accounts.
It’s clear the church is very wealthy and has global reach & influence due to the distribution
of that wealth, and that Pope Francis continues on his crusade to rid the church of bad apples.
The New York Times reported in March of 2018 that a former president of the Vatican bank
had been ordered to stand trial on charges of embezzlement and money laundering, relating
to losses of more than $61 million from real estate sales.
This makes him the highest-ranking Holy financial official to be indicted
on charges.
So, does this institution have more money than it needs, or is this wealth important
for the long-term survival of the Catholic religion?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Also be sure to check out our other video called, What If The US Budget Was Only $100
- How Would It Spend It?
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!