APOSTOLIC LETTER
ISSUED MOTU PROPRIO

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
FRANCIS

Transferral of the Ordinary Section
of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
 to the Secretariat for the Economy

Confirming a centuries-old tradition, the last Council, Vatican II, reaffirmed the necessity to adapt the organization of the Holy See to the needs of the times, above all by adapting the structure of the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, their number, denomination and competence, as well as their modes of procedure and mutual coordination to the real needs of the Church at every moment.

A concrete consequence of these principles occurred with the promulgation, on 24 February 2014, of the Apostolic Letter Fidelis Dispensator et Prudens issued Motu Proprio, by which I established the Secretariat for the Economy as a Dicastery of the Roman Curia. Taking into account the norms established by the Council for the Economy, it has within its competence the economic control of and surveillance over the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, the Institutions associated with the Holy See and the administrative offices of Vatican City State.

This considered, and accepting the advice of the Heads of Dicasteries concerned, I deemed it opportune that the Secretariat for the Economy assume from this moment among its institutional duties, in accord with the modalities and times determined by the respective Cardinal Prefect, those responsibilities which have until now been attributed to the so-designated “Ordinary Section” of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See and thus to transfer to the aforesaid Dicastery the competences that the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus of 28 June 1988 had entrusted to the said Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See. In effect, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See will no longer be divided into sections and, in the future, will be solely responsible for the work which had previously been the responsibility of the Extraordinary Section.

Consequently, after having carefully examined every question regarding the matter, and having asked the advice of the competent Dicasteries and of experts, I hereby establish and decree the following:

The text of article 172 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus is substituted in its entirety by the following text:

§ 1. It is the function of this Office to administer the provisions owned by the Holy See in order to provide the funds necessary for the Roman Curia to function.

§ 2. The Office also administers the moveable assets entrusted to it by other entities of the Holy See.

The text of article 173 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus is substituted in its entirety by the following text:

The Office is presided over by a Cardinal, assisted by a board of Cardinals and by a Prelate Secretary.

Articles 174 and 175 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus are hereby abolished.

The Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy shall establish a technical Commission with the scope of facilitating the transfer of these competences heretofore exercised by the Ordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See and shall determine, from this date forward, the means of resolving issues pending with the aforesaid Ordinary Section in order to complete the effective transfer of competences.

I order that all that I have set forth in this Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio is to be fully observed, anything to the contrary notwithstanding, albeit deserving of special mention, and I hereby decree that it be promulgated by publication in the daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, and that it enter into force on the day of its promulgation.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 8 July in the year 2014, the second of my Pontificate.

FRANCIS