The Secretariat for the Economy (Italian: Segreteria per l'Economia) is a dicastery of the Roman Curia with authority over all economic activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.
Pope Francis ordered the establishment of the secretariat in a motu proprio, Fidelis dispensator et prudens, published on 24 February 2014. It is headed by a cardinal-prefect, who reports directly to the Pope. It is, after the Secretariat of State, the second dicastery named a secretariat, an indication of its importance relative to other parts of the Curia. The seat of the secretariat is in Saint John's Tower in the Vatican Gardens.
George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, was named the secretariat's first prefect and "asked to start work as soon as possible". Pell said he would begin work at the Vatican "by the end of March". The Pope also announced the formation of a Council for the Economy to set policy guidelines for the secretariat and analyze its work. The council comprises eight cardinals or bishops and seven lay persons "with strong professional financial experience", chosen so that the body represents the global church. These members were named on 8 March. The council is headed by a cardinal coordinator, currently Reinhard Marx. On Friday, June 5, 2015, Pope Francis appointed Libero Milone as Auditor General.
A meeting of the Council for the Economy was held in September 2014 to discuss the statutes of the new secretariat. During the meeting, the Council also discussed the transfer of competences from the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See to the Secretariat for the Economy and the criteria for drawing up a budget balances system.