On
Saturday, Vatican Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lomabrdi issued
the following statement regarding Pope Francis’ approval of a Prelate to
the Institute of Religious Works, more commonly known as the IOR. With
this appointment the two top positions at the financial institution are
filled.Pope Francis has approved the appointment ad interim of Monsignor Battista Mario Salvatore Ricca as Prelate of the Institute for Religious Works (IOR). Mons. Ricca, who was nominated by the Supervisory Committee of the Commission of Cardinals for the IOR, will act as secretary at Commission meetings and assist the Supervisory Board, according to the Institute’s Statutes.
Mons. Ricca , born in 1956 in Offlaga in the province of Brescia, is a member of the Diplomatic Service in the First Section of the Secretariat of State. He is Director of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Domus Internationalis Paulus VI, the Domus Romana Sacerdotalis and Casa San Benedetto.
The former Prelate was Archbishop Piero Pioppo, currently Nuncio in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, who filled this role from 2006 to 2011.
With the appointment of Ernst von Freyberg as President and Mons. Ricca as Prelate, the Commission of Cardinals has thus filled the two most important positions as provided by the IOR Statutes, which had remained vacant for some time. The appointment of Mons. Ricca takes immediate effect.