The Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank, showed a net profit of 36.4 million euros ($44.1 million) in 2020, according to its annual report.
Compared to a net profit of 38 million euros ($46 million) the previous year, “this is a very significant result” considering the low yields and high volatility of financial markets triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, wrote Cardinal Santos Abril Castelló, president of the Commission of Cardinals supervising the bank.
It is also significant given that the Holy See “lost much of its income from its most substantial contributor, namely the Vatican Museums, which were closed for a large part of the year due to the pandemic,” he wrote.