Leo XIV has approved a new chirograph that radically modifies the structure dedicated to fundraising for the Holy See, suppressing the Commission for Donations to the Holy See created by Pope Francis in February 2025. The document, signed on September 29 and published on this December 4, establishes a comprehensive reorganization process aimed at strengthening transparency, unity, and efficiency in the management of donations.
The Council for the Economy recommends a total reform
The Pope's decision is based on a thorough study by the Council for the Economy, the body responsible for the administrative and financial supervision of the Holy See. After evaluating the first steps taken in the field of fundraising and consulting experts, the Council concluded that it was necessary “to remodular the institutional structure” in charge of donations, proposing fundamental changes.
Leo XIV fully accepted these recommendations, in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium.
The Donations Commission is Suppressed: Statute Annulled and Assets Transferred
The chirograph decrees six clear measures:
- Immediate suppression of the Commissio de donationibus pro Sancta Sede (Commission for Donations to the Holy See), established on February 11, 2025.
- Total annulment of its statute—approved ad experimentum for three years—and of all acts, regulations, and provisions issued by the body.
- Immediate termination of all its members.
- Transfer of all its assets to the Holy See, entrusted to the president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), with the power to sub-delegate the liquidation.
- Assignment to the Secretariat for the Economy to resolve pending matters arising from the dissolution, informing the Council for the Economy of all actions.
- Creation of a new working group to present to the Pope a general reorganization plan for fundraising, with the names proposed by the Council for the Economy and submitted through the Secretariat of State.
Transparency, Unity, and Centralized Control
With this act, Leo XIV seeks to strengthen the bond of unity and charity (“vinculum unitatis et caritatis”) between the particular Churches and the Apostolic See through a more orderly and coherent fundraising system. The Pope establishes a transition phase coordinated by the central economic bodies, aimed at building a new institutional architecture in matters of donations, more in line with the current demands of transparency and efficiency.
The chirograph enters into force immediately after its publication in L’Osservatore Romano and will be included in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.
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