Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI, born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (May 31, 1857 – February 10, 1939), reigned as Pope and sovereign of Vatican City from February 6, 1922 until February 10, 1939. He issued the encyclical Quas Primas establishing the feast of Christ the King. Its main idea is that the Catholic religion, beliefs, morality, and rule must spread itself to all areas of human living: the home, the city, politics, economics, art, etc.

Investments

The Lateran Treaties also entailed an agreement with Italy that provided for monies being transferred to the Church to aid with the transition and intended as a compensation for the loss of the territories laid claim to by the Church (estimated to be around 700 million lire). During the reign of Pope Pius XI this money was used for investments in the stock markets and real estate. To manage these investments, the Pope appointed the lay-person Bernadino Nogara, who through shrewd investing in stocks, gold, and futures markets, vastly increased the Catholic Church's financial holdings. However contrary to myth it did not create enormous Vatican wealth. Most of the money simply paid for the upkeep of its expensive-to-maintain stock of historic buildings in the Vatican which previously had been maintained through funds raised from the Papal States up until 1870. Notwithstanding the large sums received in the concordat, after paying for the physical upkeep of St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace and its property portfolio, the Vatican spent most of the twentieth century in the red, with a deficit of £50 million by the end of the 20th century.

Related Topics:
Lateran Treaties - Bernadino Nogara - Gold - Catholic Church - Papal States - 1870 - St. Peter's Basilica - Apostolic Palace - 20th century

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