Holy Terminals: The Vatican’s Financial Power Play
Unveiling the Vatican’s Financial Fervor in a Digital Age

Beneath the soaring domes of Vatican City, where sacred chants echo and timeless rituals unfold, a tantalizing enigma has slipped through the gilded gates of St. Peter’s Basilica: why does this tiny sovereign state, home to just 882 souls, wield an astonishing 17 Bloomberg terminals? That’s right—17 gleaming financial powerhouses, a per capita prowess that could leave Wall Street tycoons green with envy. Strap in, dear reader, for a rollicking ride through this divine dance of faith and finance, spiced with digital sleuthing and a whisper of papal intrigue.
A Financial Fiefdom in the Heart of Rome
Vatican City, a 44-hectare enclave, is more than the spiritual heart of 1.4 billion Catholics—it’s a financial hub managing billions through the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), colloquially known as the Vatican Bank. Founded in 1942, the IOR oversees €5.2 billion in client assets with a staff of 110, serving the Holy See, religious orders, and Catholic institutions (Catholic News Agency, 2022). To navigate global markets, the Vatican relies on Bloomberg terminals, sophisticated platforms costing $32,000 annually, delivering real-time data, analytics, and trading capabilities (Investopedia, 2025).
The Vatican’s ties to Bloomberg date back decades. A 1999 Wired article noted Bloomberg’s network serving clients like “the Vatican, central banks in South America, Europe, and Asia,” confirming its long-standing role (Wired, 1999). Yet, recent attention has focused on the Vatican’s 17 terminals—a figure yielding a per capita rate of 1.93 per 100 residents, far outstripping larger nations. For perspective, a hypothetical 10,000 terminals in the UK’s 67 million population would yield a mere 0.015 per 100, highlighting Vatican City’s financial outlier status (Wikipedia, 2024).
