Sources have told The Pillar that Cardinal Angelo Becciu, despite his conviction for financial crimes, “retains the use of a palatial grace-and-favor apartment in Vatican City.”
Cardinal Becciu, who resigned from his curial position in 2020, “is not paying market rates for the property but instead only a nominal monthly rent, in line with privileges customarily extended to senior curial officials,” according to the report.
Cardinal Raymond Burke was recently notified that he must begin paying market-rate rent on his Vatican apartment or vacate it by the end of February 2024.
In March of this year, Pope Francis ordered ordered an end to the practice of providing Vatican officials free or subsidized use of Vatican-owned residential properties, as a cost-saving measure to trim budget deficits. To date, however, Cardinal Burke is the only prelate known to be told that he must pay market rent.