Pope appoints Cardinal Tagle to Vatican ‘central bank’

Pope Francis on Monday has given Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, an additional role in the Roman Curia.

Tagle was appointed by the pope as a member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which operates like the Vatican’s central bank.

Also appointed to the body as member is Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

APSA acts as the equivalent of a treasury and also oversees real estate holdings and other sovereign assets.

Currently headed by Italian Bishop Nunzio Galantino, the office also administers payroll and operating expenses for Vatican City.

APSA has around a hundred employees and collaborators, and a commission of eight cardinals who work alongside the president.

Pope Francis has recently brought under the control of APSA the financial investments and real estate holdings owned by the Secretariat of State — the central administration of the Vatican.

Tagle has been in the Vatican since February 2020 when he formally assumed his post as head of Propaganda Fide.

In May 2020, the pontiff elevated him to the order of “cardinal bishops,” the highest rank within the College of Cardinals.

It is from the ranks of cardinal bishops that the Dean of Cardinals is elected. The dean presides at the conclave in case of “sede vacante,” a period when there is no pope.

In July 2020, he was also named member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

At present, Tagle has been serving his second and last term as president of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of Catholic charities around the world. (CBCP News)

A version of this article was first published on CBCP News.