Pope Leo XIV has reinstated the “conclave bonus” given to Vatican employees for their service during the sede vacante period.
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Approximately 5,000 staff working for the Roman Curia and state institutions — such as the Vatican Museums, the Vatican Pharmacy, the Vatican Library, and Vatican Media — will receive an extra 500 euros (about $566) in their June paychecks.
The custom of distributing conclave bonuses by newly-elected popes is seen as a gesture of gratitude toward Vatican employees who had worked, often overtime, in the weeks following the death of a pope until the election of a new one.
Though Pope Leo did not speak about the monetary gift in his audience with several Holy See and state workers earlier this month, he expressed his high regard for the men and women who form the different “working communities” of the Vatican.
“To work in the Roman Curia means to contribute to keeping the memory of the Apostolic See alive,” he said at the May 24 meeting. “And, by analogy, this can also be said of the services of Vatican City State.”
“Each one of you gives your contribution, carrying out your daily work with commitment and also with faith, because faith and prayer are like salt for food; they impart flavor,” he added.
Among the thousands of workers who will benefit from Pope Leo’s monetary gift include men and women who work in the Vatican’s bookstore, clothing stores, gas stations, and post office, along with the Holy See’s other lay and religious staff.
In 2013, the “conclave bonus” tradition was temporarily suspended when Pope Francis was elected. Instead, he chose to redirect the monetary gift to papal charities and welfare institutions as a sign of the Church’s concern for people in need.
Aware of the discontent felt by several Vatican employees to withhold the handout, former Vatican spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi justified scrapping the bonus because, amid the “difficult general economic situation” of the church-state, a pope had not died.
“It did not seem possible or appropriate to burden the budgets of Vatican entities with a considerable extraordinary expense that was not foreseen,” Lombardi said in 2013.
Though employees missed out on the expected conclave bonus when Francis became pope 12 years ago, several employees with three or more children are benefitting from a monthly 300-euro (about $339) bonus approved by the late pontiff in January 2025.
Under Pope Benedict XIV, Vatican employees were granted a 1,000-euro conclave bonus for the additional work carried out during the sede vacante period after the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005.
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This article was originally published by CNA.
