The Institute for the Works of Religion (Italian: Istituto per le Opere di Religione; Latin: Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR),[4][5] commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution[2] that is situated inside Vatican City and run by a Board of Superintendence, which reports to a Commission of Cardinals and the Pope.

"The IOR will continue to serve with prudence and provide specialized financial services to the Catholic Church worldwide", as the Vatican release stated.

[12] On 7 April 2014, Pope Francis approved a proposal on the Institute's future, "reaffirming the importance of the IOR’s mission for the good of the Catholic Church, the Holy See and the Vatican City State".

[note 1] The purpose of the IOR is "to provide for the safekeeping and administration of movable and immovable property transferred or entrusted to it by physical or juridical persons and intended for works of religion or charity".

[citation needed] According to its Statutes, in effect since 2023,[13] the IOR is composed of four bodies: A Commission of Cardinals with five members, appointed for renewable five-year terms, who elect their president.

Once among the country's most powerful businessmen, subsequent investigations into his business affairs brought to light questionable associations with the Mafia as well as the secret P2, a bogus "Masonic" lodge that the Italian Parliament branded as a subversive organization.

[22] The 1974 failure of Sindona's Franklin National Bank and the subsequent collapse of his financial empire, into which he had channeled part of the Holy See's investments, entailed losses for the Vatican estimated by one source at 35 billion Italian lire (£20 million).

Marcinkus evaded arrest by staying inside Vatican City until the warrant was dismissed in 1991, whereupon he returned to his home country, the United States.

[36] Alperin v. Vatican Bank was a class action suit by Holocaust survivors against the Institute for the Works of Religion filed in San Francisco, California on 15 November 1999.

[40] On 31 May 2011, Rome's attorney general released the €23 million in assets which had been seized in September, apparently in acknowledgment of the steps taken in the following months to conform the Institute to international standards.

On 24 May 2012, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was ousted as Head of the Vatican Bank because of his alleged "failure to fulfill the primary functions of his office".

[43][44] On 15 June 2013, with the approval of Pope Francis, the Cardinals' Commission appointed Monsignor Battista Mario Salvatore Ricca as the Institute's Prelate ad interim.

[46][47] It was reported that Ricca had offered his resignation because of the controversy,[48][49][50] but the head of the Holy See's Press Office declared the accusations as "not credible"[46] and Pope Francis himself informed journalists that an inquiry "found nothing".

[57] In February 2017, a court in Rome convicted two former top Vatican Bank officials Paolo Cipriani and Massimo Tulliof for omissions in communications involving three small transfers.

[61] On 30 December 2010, Pope Benedict XVI established the Vatican's independent Financial Intelligence Authority (Autorità di Informazione Finanziaria, AIF) to oversee the monetary and commercial activities of all Vatican-related institutions, including the IOR.

At the same time, Moneyval requested further reforms to be enacted[65][66] The Vatican expressed a goal to get into the so-called OECD white list which includes countries that comply with international anti-money laundering standards and regulations against tax offences.

Its five members were Raffaele Farina (President) Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran, Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, Peter Bryan Wells (secretary) and Mary Ann Glendon.

[85] It was stated that the IOR has made significant progress but at the same time needed more institutionalized internal controls, especially with regard to the AIF's watchdog function.

[90] The IOR itself stated that the Pope's decision "represents a powerful endorsement of our very mission and the hard work accomplished over the past 12 months.

"[91] Von Freyberg stepped down in July as head of the IOR and Pope Francis named Jean-Baptiste de Franssu to replace him.

Other members included Jean-Baptiste de Franssu (France), President of the Board, Clemens Boersig (Germany), Mary Ann Glendon (USA) and Michael Hintze (UK).

In addition to these six lay members of the Board, Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, Secretary-General of the Secretariat for the Economy, served as its non-voting Secretary.

[93] From January 2017 additional members added to the board were: Scott C. Malpass (USA), Javier Marín Romano [es] (Spain), and Georg Freiherr von Boeselager (Germany).