Pope Leo restores the tradition of a bonus for Vatican employees after a Conclave

With a 500-euro bonus, the new Pontiff distances himself from Francis's austere style.

With only weeks in office, Pope Leo XIV is already beginning to put his personal stamp on the Vatican. In an unexpected move—but one with a strong symbolic meaning—the new pontiff decided to restore an ancient papal tradition: granting a financial bonus to all Vatican employees upon their election.

The gesture, which had been eliminated by Pope Francis in his crusade to simplify protocols and reduce expenses, was interpreted by many as the return of a more ceremonial era within the Church. According to internal Vatican sources, each employee of the Holy See will receive a "tip" of 500 euros, which will be included in their monthly payroll.

"It's a clear sign that he values ​​the efforts of those who support the daily functioning of the Vatican," said an employee close to the Vatican Governorate. This Friday, May 24, Leo XIV will receive all of them in audience in the Paul VI Hall, in what promises to be a meeting full of gestures and words.

Pope Leo XIV and the Return of Bonuses: Between Tradition and Social Message

Since the first day of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has shown a special sensitivity toward the world of work. It is no coincidence that he chose his name in homage to Leo XIII, the Pontiff who promoted the historic encyclical Rerum Novarum, published in 1891 and considered the Church's first great manifesto on labor rights.

With this bonus, Leo XIV not only revives a tradition eliminated by Francis, but also sends a message: the Church must not forget those who, in administrative and operational roles, keep its structures alive. "The Pope wanted to begin his pontificate by concretely thanking workers. It is a recognition that goes beyond salaries," explained a source close to the Paul VI Hall.

The initiative has generated inevitable comparisons with his predecessor. During the final years of his pontificate, Francis eliminated these bonuses and implemented salary cuts in the Roman Curia, citing the need to adjust Vatican finances. His approach was that of a poor Church for the poor. Leo XIV, without renouncing his social commitment, seems inclined to revalue traditional forms that combine symbolism, history, and recognition.

The Vatican between the austerity of Francis and the symbolic gestures of Leo XIV.

The election of Leo XIV marks a change in style in the leadership of the Vatican. While Francis advocated austerity, the new pontiff signals that symbolic gestures can also have pastoral weight.

"A way of thinking about the Church is returning in which the ceremonial and the institutional have an educational role," said an Italian religious analyst. The 500-euro bonus is small compared to the Vatican's budget, but its symbolic impact is enormous: it's a way of saying "thank you" from the highest echelons of ecclesiastical power to those who make the world's smallest state function every day.

This return of a custom "that was thought to have been eliminated forever", as one government official put it, does not necessarily imply a contradiction with Francis' legacy, but a reinterpretation of the way the papacy presents itself to the world. 

Leo XIV seems convinced that tradition is not an obstacle, but a tool for communicating values.

Source

This is Francis on In his homily during Holy Mass in the Chapel of Santa Marta on Friday, 8 November 2013 on the parable of the dishonest steward taken from the Gospel of St Luke (16:1-8).

Telling all of the employees that the modest bonus they had traditionally received was in fact a bribe and that they were devotees of the "goddess bribery" was probably not a good start to his reign. 

The Holy Father began: “The Lord speaks to us again about the spirit of the world, about worldliness: how this worldliness works and how perilous it is. In his prayer after the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, Jesus besought the Father not to allow his disciples to fall into worldliness”.

The Pope reaffirmed that “worldliness is the enemy”, and “the devil derives great pleasure” from seeing us live according to its ways. He pointed to the dishonest steward described in the Gospel as an example of worldliness. “Some of you might say: ‘But this man only did what everyone does!’. No, not everyone! Some company administrators, public administrators, government administrators … but perhaps not many. It’s an attitude of taking short cuts, of taking the easy road to earn a living”.

“The master praises the dishonest steward in the Gospel”, the Pope continued. “He is praising bribery. The habit of bribes and kickbacks is a worldly and extremely sinful habit.... God commanded us to bring home bread through honest work”. Instead “this steward was giving dirty bread to his children to eat. And his children, who perhaps were educated in expensive universities and were raised in very cultured circles, were fed dirt by their father. For in bringing home unclean bread, their father lost his dignity. And this is a grave sin. It might start with a small bribe, but it is like a drug”.

Pope Francis explained, in fact, that it is a serious sin “because it is so against our dignity”. “That dignity by which we are united through our work. Not through bribes and kickbacks. Not through this addiction to worldly cunning. When we read in the papers or hear someone on the news speak about corruption, perhaps we think that corruption is just a word. This is corruption: not earning our daily bread with dignity”.

However, the Holy Father noted, there is another road, an alternative route to worldly cunning. It is the path of “Christian cleverness”. This path, he said, “allows us to be cunning but not according to the spirit of the world. Jesus himself said it: be wise as serpents, innocent as doves”. Uniting these two realities is a grace and a gift of the Holy Spirit, the Pope said. “This Christian cleverness is a gift; it is a grace that the Lord gives to us. But we need to ask for it”.

Pope Francis then turned his attention to the families of the world’s dishonest stewards. “Perhaps today,” he said, “it would be good for all of us to pray for the many children who receive dirty bread from their parents, since they too are hungry; they are hungry for dignity”.

The Holy Father concluded by inviting all of those present “to ask the Lord to change the hearts of those who are devoted to the goddess of bribery” in order that “they might understand that dignity comes from noble work, from honest work, from daily work, and not from the easy road which in the end strips you of everything”. For when they face death, he said, “these poor people who lose their dignity through the practice of bribery do not take with them the money they earned; they only take their lack of dignity. Let us pray for them”.