(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 08.12.2025).- The Vatican has unveiled a sweeping update to its public procurement regulations, introducing a streamlined framework designed to safeguard integrity while accelerating decision-making in the Holy See’s contracting processes.
The reform, enacted through a General Executive Decree from the Secretariat for the Economy on August 9, implements key provisions of «Para una mejor armonización» (“For a Better Harmonization”), the motu proprio issued in January 2024. This decree builds upon the Vatican’s 2020 apostolic letter on transparency, oversight, and competition in awarding public contracts—originally promulgated by Pope Francis and later refined to better align with the evolving needs of the Church’s administration.
Signed on August 5 and comprised of eight sections and 52 articles, the new regulation represents the work of multiple Vatican departments. Officials say the goal is to preserve the principles of transparency, fair competition, and equal treatment of bidders while cutting through bureaucratic bottlenecks that can delay projects.
The updated code is not only an exercise in administrative housekeeping; it reflects the Vatican’s ongoing commitment to the values embedded in Catholic social teaching. These include fairness in economic dealings, responsible stewardship of resources, and the promotion of efficiency and value for money without compromising ethical standards.
The balance between rigorous oversight and procedural simplicity has been a recurring theme in Vatican governance reforms since the apostolic constitution «Praedicate Evangelium» came into force in 2022. The new framework draws on lessons from recent years, aiming to ensure that procurement decisions are both transparent and practically executable, avoiding excessive delays or red tape.
The decree took immediate effect on August 10, a day after its publication on the website of L’Osservatore Romano. It will also appear on the official Vatican public procurement portal ([www.bandipubblici.va](http://www.bandipubblici.va)) and in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the Holy See’s official record.
By tightening its rules and modernizing procedures, the Vatican hopes to foster greater trust—internally among its offices and externally with contractors—while ensuring that financial and material resources serve the mission of the Church with accountability and prudence.
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