The former monastery on a quiet residential street in Rome once sheltered Jews fearing deportation during World War II. Purchased by the Vatican in 2021 as a dormitory for foreign nuns studying at Rome’s pontifical universities, the building now stands empty, a collateral victim of the latest financial scandal to hit the Holy See.
The money was transferred from TPMS-US into a New York-based non-profit, Missio Corp., and its private equity fund, MISIF LLC, both of which were created by the Rev. Andrew Small while he was the national director of TPMS-US. Both financial vehicles aim to raise capital to provide low-interest loans and investments to church-run farming initiatives in Africa. MISIF LLC is known as an impact investing fund because it seeks to do social good as well as provide a financial return.
“The Holy See is aware of the situation and is currently looking into the details of the events,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement to AP. “How can donor intent be assured if the aims of the two are so different?” he asked. “Donor intent is defended in both civil and canon law,” he added.
He said donors were increasingly unwilling to just give to the Vatican via the typical structure, where Rome decides where donations are spent -- a reference to donor distrust of the opaque finances of the Holy See in general and the Vatican’s missionary office in particular. Small said the board of TPMS-US was informed of all developments and approved all the transfers, and that he made at least annual presentations to the Vatican’s missionary office.
“The independent analysis concluded that the TPMS board approved the funds transfers in a way consistent with their powers and the TPMS bylaws,” TPMS-US told AP in a statement. “Management of the organization is diligently working to redeem the investment, however there is no timeline and no guarantee of investment return,” the statement says. TPMS-US now values the $10.2 million investment as a total loss.