Today is a kind of smorgasbord of news – something for everyone: Corpus Christi, a papal charity fund raiser, Vatican City and coronavirus, Vatican bank annual report and a just-inaugurated Vativision platform that streams content on demand – films, documentaries and TV series – inspired by the Christian message.
Sunday, June 14, feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Altar of the Chair at 9:45 am. About 50 faithful will be present for the papal Mass.
Do you want to help Pope Francis’ fund-raising efforts to help Italian hospitals? If so, click here to check out the site and to participate in the charity auction (there are some amazing offers): charitystars.com
In a statement released on Saturday, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, announced that the last person in the Vatican to have been reported sick in the past few weeks has tested negative for Covid-19. “To date there are no positive cases of coronavirus among employees of the Holy See and within Vatican City State,” reads the statement.
VATICAN BANK (IOR) RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT
Vatican City, 8 June 2020 – For the eighth consecutive year, the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR) publishes the Financial Statements in its Annual Report.
The 2019 Financial Statements have been audited by the independent international auditing firm Mazars.
On 28 April 2020, the Board of Superintendence of the Institute unanimously approved the 2019 Financial Statements. In accordance with the Statutes, they were submitted to the Commission of Cardinals highlighting the soundness and the strength of IOR financials (capital and liquidity level) and its compliance with international best practices. In line with the indications of His Holiness Pope Francis, the Commission of Cardinals decided again this year for a full distribution of profits. (photo: Vatican media)
In 2019 the Institute continued to provide, with rigor and prudence, financial services to the Vatican City State and the Catholic Church worldwide. The Institute also continued its work to ensure adherence to Catholic Social Teaching throughout its operations. The priority and commitment of the Institute to the ethical and social principles of Catholic Teaching is applied to the management and investment policies of its own account and to those of its clients.
Key financial data for the Institute in 2019 are the following:
– Euro 5.1 billion (Euro 5 billion in 2018) of client assets of which 3.4 billion are assets· managed for third parties or under custody;
– Euro 38 million (Euro 17.5 million in 2018), as a net result illustrating the risk-based· and faith consistent investment process applied to manage IOR balance sheet;
– Euro 630.3 million of net equity after distribution of profit as at 31 December 2019. In· addition, IOR maintains a strong liquidity level with a Liquidity Coverage Ratio LCR of 443% and a Net Stable Funding Ratio NSFR of 1008%.
During the year, the IOR has continued to strengthen its senior management team and increased its investments in IT including those related to the membership of the European SEPA payment platforms.
(IOR website: http://www.ior.va/content/ior/en.html)
VATIVISION PLATFORM INAUGURATED TODAY
As of today, the VatiVision platform is online to stream content on demand – films, documentaries and TV series – inspired by the Christian message. The new initiative is the result of the collaboration between the Vatican’s Communication Secretariat and Vetrya.** The service is available worldwide in multi-screen mode, through a browser, by connecting to http://www.vativision.com or as an app on smartphones, tablets, smart-TVs and set-top boxes, where it is already present in all digital stores.
Dubbed “the Netflix of the Vatican,” VatiVision offers a catalogue full of content, religious documentaries, such as Lourdes and the Great Popes, films and documentaries dedicated to great biographies, such as Padre Pio, or art documentaries. VatiVision is available on TIMVISION***, TIM’s TV, and will soon be available on other international telecommunications operators.
(** Vetrya is an Italian cloud computing platform for the telecommunication industry – *** TIM is the Italian Telephone Company. www.vativision.com at the moment is only in Italian)
Joan's Rome 