Pope Leo XIV has decided to end one of the most significant financial measures of the Roman Curia’s recent history. Coinciding with his 71st birthday, the pontiff signed the official revocation of the salary cuts that his predecessor, Pope Francis, had implemented in March 2021. This administrative decision, designed to restructure the remuneration of high-ranking Church officials, restores full salaries to cardinals and heads of dicasteries.

The original provision, channeled through the  Motu Proprio  entitled  A Sustainable Future , arose in a global context profoundly shaped by the COVID-19 health emergency. At that critical moment, the Holy See argued that the drastic drop in revenue—exacerbated by the prolonged closure of the Vatican Museums, a financial mainstay of the institution—had aggravated the chronic deficit plaguing the Vatican accounts.

As a direct response to that crisis, the previous pontificate established a scale of adjustments that included a 10% pay cut for cardinals residing in the Curia. The measure also stipulated an 8% reduction for the heads and secretaries of the various dicasteries, and a 3% cut for clergy and religious personnel linked to the central administration. At the same time, the calculation of biennial seniority increases was frozen for the vast majority of staff.

The step taken by Leo XIV comes after a detailed analysis and after formally hearing the opinion of the Secretariat for the Economy. In the new document, the current Pope emphasizes that those salary restrictions served an essential purpose in mitigating the exceptional challenge of the pandemic, but acknowledges that current circumstances allow for overcoming such budgetary limitations. The measure formally came into effect at the beginning of September, marking a new direction in the management of the Church’s human resources.

This institutional shift in direction is based on a positive evolution of the financial statements of Vatican City State and the Holy See. The latest accounting reports have reflected significant financial relief, driven notably by a rebound in donations and improved financial performance, which has allowed for a considerable reduction in the structural deficit recorded in previous years.

However, the Vatican’s economic bodies maintain a position of institutional prudence. The Secretariat for the Economy has repeatedly emphasized that full long-term financial sustainability continues to require rigorous oversight. For this reason, the papal decree specifies that the effects produced during the years the previous regulation was in force remain formally unchanged, including the temporary freezing of the calculation of seniority accrued during that period.