Pope celebrates his 71st birthday but it’s Vatican employees who get the gift
The decree restores pay for Vatican employees as Leo says the Holy See can now move past pandemic-era wage limits.
- On Monday, September 14, Pope Leo XIV celebrated his 71st birthday by issuing a decree repealing salary cuts imposed by Pope Francis during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reversal affects cardinals, office heads, and lower-ranking staff.
- Pope Francis had implemented the unpopular 10% pay cuts to address a structural deficit of around 70 million euros and a 1 billion euro pension fund shortfall. The Vatican faced severe revenue losses when museums closed for months during the pandemic.
- Leo, an Augustinian math major, stated the Holy See can now ensure economic sustainability. He noted the Vatican's financial situation was not as dire as initially feared after his election.
- In a separate decree Monday, Leo canceled plans to move secret archives to a pontifical university across town. Instead, he ordered construction of a new building within Vatican City to house ancient manuscripts and archival collections.
- Visiting the Vatican Apostolic Library Monday, Leo inaugurated an exhibition on water, the first installment in a five-year cycle entitled 'Catastrophe and Marvel.' The Pope has emphasized peace more than 400 times during his first year.
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The Catholic SunPope Leo ends COVID-era salary cuts for cardinals and senior Vatican officials
Pope Leo XIV has repealed provisions introduced by Pope Francis in March 2021 that reduced the salaries of cardinals and Vatican employees as a cost-saving measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cardinals of the Roman Curia will now once again receive around 5,500 euros per month.
Day with a special significance Monday, at the Vatican. Pope Leon XIV fulfilled, on September 14, 2026, 71 years. On the occasion of the anniversary of his birthday, the first American pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church received greetings from all over the world.
Pope celebrates birthday but Vatican employees get the gift
VATICAN CITY (AP): Pope Leo XIV celebrated his 71st birthday yesterday but it was Vatican employees who got the gift. The Vatican published a papal decree repealing 2021 salary cuts that Pope Francis had imposed on many Vatican employees as part of the Holy See’s COVID-19 cost-saving measures. In the decree, Leo said the salary-containing measures “can now be overcome, in the certainty that the institutions of the Holy See and the Vatican City S…
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