Just days before his death, Pope Francis wrestled with an enormous problem: the Vatican’s dire finances. The world’s smallest country is now facing a budget deficit of millions, and a looming crisis in its pension fund. As the Papal conclave meets this week to vote for a new leader, WSJ’s Drew Hinshaw pieces through how centuries of financial mismanagement have culminated into a mess that the next pope will inherit. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Pope Francis Has Died. What’s Next for the Catholic Church? - The Mormon Church’s $100 Billion Secret Fund Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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It was winter at the Vatican, and Pope Francis was desperate. Francis sat in the reception room short of breath. Aides shuffled in and out as the Pope worked through what he thought was a bad cold.
And advisors and Vatican officials are coming in and presenting the details of a city-state, effectively, that is awash in priceless treasures but is falling deeper into debt.
Our colleague Drew Henshaw spoke with us from Rome. How much did the finances of the Vatican actually kind of weigh on Pope Francis before his death?
Right up until the end.
That day in February, Francis reviewed documents underneath a cherished painting depicting Mary, undoer of knots. In it, the Virgin Mary is shown unraveling a long ribbon. Three days later, Francis was hospitalized with double pneumonia.
And on April 21st, he died, leaving his successor with this economic puzzle that one pope after the next has tried to solve.
Today, as the College of Cardinals gathers to elect a new leader, a major question looms over the conclave. What will the next pope do about the Vatican's financial crisis?
I mean, this is one of the hidden stories of really the modern papacy, is how much the Bishop of Rome is the ultimate bookkeeper for the Vatican.
How would you describe the financial mess that this next pope will inherit? I would say unheavenly. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Wednesday, May 7th. Coming up on the show, do the Vatican's finances need divine intervention? For all its global influence, the Vatican is tiny. It's the world's smallest country.
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