Pope Leo XIV has formally ended Vatican salary restrictions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, closing a chapter of financial austerity that affected cardinals, senior Vatican officials, clergy and religious for several years.
According to Vatican News, Pope Leo issued a new Motu Proprio repealing the measures established by Pope Francis in March 2021 through the Motu Proprio A Sustainable Future. The repeal took effect Sept. 1, 2026.
The original measures were introduced as the pandemic placed additional strain on the finances of the Holy See and Vatican City State. At the time, the financial difficulties had worsened “the deficit that has characterised the economic management of the Holy See for several years and has negatively affected all sources of revenue for both the Holy See and Vatican City State,” according to the 2021 document cited by Vatican News.
Rather than pursue more severe cost-cutting measures, including employee dismissals, Pope Francis chose to reduce compensation for certain categories of Vatican personnel.
Cardinals serving in the Roman Curia saw their salaries reduced by 10 percent. Heads and secretaries of Dicasteries and other employees classified in salary grades C and C1 received an 8-percent reduction, while clergy and members of religious institutes employed by Vatican institutions received a 3-percent reduction, according to Vatican News.
The measures also suspended biennial seniority increases, the salary increases normally awarded every two years. For lay employees, the suspension applied only to those at level four and above, protecting employees receiving the lowest salaries.
Pope Leo said the restrictions had been necessary to address “the exceptional challenge of the pandemic,” but determined that the circumstances that justified them have now passed.
The Holy Father expressed confidence that Vatican institutions will continue “through different means, their commitment to ensuring economic sustainability,” according to Vatican News.
The repeal does not reverse the financial effects of the previous policy, however. Pope Leo specified that measures already applied while A Sustainable Future was in force remain intact.
That includes the effects of the suspension of biennial seniority increases, which the new document says “remain definitively acquired.” In practical terms, the repeal ends the COVID-era restrictions going forward but does not retroactively restore increases that were frozen under the previous policy.
Pope Leo said the decision was made after hearing the opinion of the Secretariat for the Economy and carefully considering the matter.
The move marks the formal conclusion of an extraordinary Vatican financial policy born from the economic disruption of the pandemic, while maintaining the Holy See’s broader commitment to long-term financial sustainability.
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