Pope Leo XIV Reverses Francis’s Pay Cuts and Archive Plans on His 71st Birthday

Key points

• Pope Leo XIV published a decree on Sept. 14, 2026, repealing the 2021 salary cuts imposed by Pope Francis on cardinals and Vatican staff.
• The decree also canceled Francis’s plan to move secret archives and library holdings to a university campus, ordering new construction within Vatican City instead.
• Leo visited the Vatican Apostolic Library on his birthday, noting his mother was a librarian, and inaugurated an exhibition on water.
• The salary cuts had included a 10% reduction for cardinals and 8% for senior officials, with biennial pay raises frozen for senior lay employees.
• Leo cited improved economic sustainability and 'unprecedented opportunities' for new storage space as reasons for the reversals.

Background

Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago in 1955, has focused his first year in office on peace, human dignity, and reversing some of Pope Francis’s financial reforms. His pontificate includes encyclicals on AI ethics and care for the poor, and he has visited Türkiye, Lebanon, Monaco, and Algeria. The 2021 pay cuts were part of Francis’s response to a pandemic-era budget crisis, including a 70 million euro deficit and a 1 billion euro pension shortfall.

How outlets are covering it

National Catholic Reporter and OSV News emphasize the financial reversal, noting Leo’s background in mathematics and his earlier comments that the Vatican’s finances were not as dire as Francis had suggested. Vatican News highlights the symbolic aspect of Leo’s birthday visit to the library, linking it to his mother’s profession and his broader themes of peace and human dignity. The Pillar frames the move as a potential shift in financial policy, questioning whether Leo has new information or a different attitude toward Vatican spending. All sources agree on the core facts of the decree but differ in emphasis: some focus on the financial implications, others on the symbolic and administrative changes.

Why it matters

The reversal of pay cuts and archive plans signals a shift in Vatican financial and administrative policy under Leo XIV, potentially affecting morale and long-term planning. It also reflects a broader trend of Leo amending Francis’s reforms, which may influence future decisions on Vatican governance and resource allocation.

What to watch

The Vatican will proceed with the construction of the new archive building on a parking lot within Vatican City. The full impact of the salary restoration on the Holy See’s budget will be assessed in the coming months. Leo is expected to continue reviewing other financial and administrative policies from the Francis era.