The Vatican Bank has joined forces with US financial services firm Morningstar to launch two new stock indexes that pick stocks in line with Catholic principles, the two entities said on Tuesday, an unusual collaboration between the Vatican and the financial sector.
The Vatican Bank launches two stock market indices based on Catholic values
Morningstar IOR Eurozone Catholic Principles Index and Morningstar IOR US Catholic Principles Index “are designed to serve as a reference for Catholic investments worldwide“, informed the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR), as the Vatican Bank is officially known, writes Reuters.
Both indexes include 50 mid- and large-cap companies, including Big Tech and financial stocks.
Among the fund's main holdings in the euro zone are semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding, telephone operator Deutsche Telekom and software company SAP.
Socially responsible investments have grown in recent decades. Ave Maria Mutual Funds, an American fund that makes investments according to Catholic principles, said that in 2025 it had $3.8 billion in assets under management.
The joint venture between Morningstar and the Vatican Bank follows efforts to clean up the bank's reputation, which has been tarnished in recent decades by cases of corruption, embezzlement and other crimes.
The late Pope Francis, who died last year, enacted a series of reforms to address these issues.
Pope Leo XIV last year revoked the Vatican Bank's sole authority over investments held by the city-state, undoing one of the financial reforms of his predecessor, Francis.
This decision gave Vatican departments the freedom to use foreign banks.
Leon rescinded Francis' previous mandate, but said departments should continue to use the Vatican Bank, “unless the competent bodies… consider it more efficient or convenient to use financial intermediaries established in other states.”
The Vatican's financial reputation has been tarnished in recent decades by its opaque finances and by cases of corruption, embezzlement and other crimes. Francis, who has led the Catholic Church for 12 years, has enacted a series of reforms to address these issues.
Leon's decree annuls only one of these reforms, which required that all investments be managed by the Vatican Bank.
Some officials have complained since the 2022 reform that Francis' move gave the bank too much power over other Vatican departments, which could not even have investments in banks in neighboring Italy.
The new decree requires Vatican departments to continue to follow the Vatican's investment policies, which were drawn up by an oversight committee created by Francis in 2022.
The Vatican Bank was established in 1942 by Pope Pius XII. Its client base consists of Catholic institutions, members of the clergy, current or former employees of the Vatican, embassies and diplomats accredited to the Holy See.
