Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 10, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 10, 2026
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The Vatican Bank and Morningstar have launched equity indexes that align with Catholic principles, marking a significant step in socially responsible investing.
VATICAN CITY, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The Vatican bank has joined with Morningstar to launch two new equity indexes for stocks aligned with Catholic values, the two entities said on Tuesday, in an unusual collaboration between the Vatican and the financial sector.
The bank, officially known as the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), said the indexes would each include 50 medium- and large-cap companies consistent with Catholic teachings on life issues, social responsibility and environmental protection.
The new equities are Morningstar IOR US Catholic Principles and Morningstar IOR Eurozone Catholic Principles.
Top holdings in the euro zone fund, according to Morningstar, include semiconductor supplier ASML Holding, Deutsche Telekom and software company SAP.
Socially responsible investing has grown in recent decades. Ave Maria Mutual Funds, a U.S. fund family that makes investments according to Catholic principles, said it had $3.8 billion in assets under management in 2025.
The joint venture between Morningstar and the Vatican bank follows efforts to clean up the reputation of the bank, which was tarnished in past decades by allegations of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering and other crimes.
The late Pope Francis, who died last year, enacted a series of reforms to address those issues.
The Vatican also maintains its own investment portfolio. It earned 38.1 million euro ($45.41 million) in profit from investments in 2024, according to its latest financial statement.
($1 = 0.8391 euros)
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Alvise Armellini)
Socially responsible investing (SRI) is an investment strategy that considers both financial return and social/environmental good, often aligning with ethical guidelines.
Index funds are mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) designed to follow specific benchmarks or indexes, providing broad market exposure and lower costs.
Equity indexes are statistical measures that track the performance of a specific group of stocks, reflecting the overall market or a particular sector.
Investing according to Catholic principles involves aligning investment choices with the ethical and moral teachings of the Catholic Church, focusing on social responsibility.
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