Pope Leo XIV names new Vatican economy council members

In an effort to improve the Holy See’s institutional transparency, and inject specialized private-wealth expertise into its financial governance, Pope Leo XIV announced the appointment of Princess Gisela Bergmann of Liechtenstein to the Vatican’s Council for the Economy.

Bergmann, 36, is one of eight new appointments to the 15-member Council of the Economy – the body overseeing the annual budgets and financial activities of the Holy See and Vatican City State.

Bringing generational wealth expertise to the Holy See While Bergmann’s royal heritage has naturally generated headlines, her selection comes, according to Vatican observers, with extensive credentials in international asset management.

She currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Industrie- und Finanzkontor Etablissement, the largest firm in Liechtenstein dedicated to private-wealth preservation and asset-holding established by the principality’s ruling family in 1948.

We look at wealth and family from a holistic perspective, always thinking in terms of generations, the Council for the Economy member commented previously on her firm’s client-centered, multi-generational wealth strategy.

The appointment is part of an ongoing series of reforms aimed at curbing criticism of the Church’s opaque historical accounting and financial practices. Catholic public-policy observers said including an established private-wealth manager on the council reflects an intentional strategy to capitalize on deep international experience.

From environmental engineering to wealth management The younger daughter of Prince Michael of Liechtenstein and Hildegard Berta Peters, she was born in Feldkirch, Austria, on June 26, 1990, in Feldkirch, Austria.

Bergmann is a great-granddaughter of Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria, a daughter of Charles I, the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Despite her rich royal lineage, Princess Gisela Bergmann pursued a career in highly technical disciplines: Education earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental engineering from ETH Zurich and completed specialized studies in fiduciary management at the University of Liechtenstein.

International Experience worked in Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Switzerland, with an earlier tenure as Vice President for London’s Hannam & Partners investment banking firm.

Corporate Leadership joined the board of Industrie- und Finanzkontor in 2020 prior to being appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2022.

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Along with Princess Bergmann, Pope Leo XIV has added a dozen international figures to three of the Holy See’s internal fiscal supervisory bodies in an announcement that also included the appointment of former AXA board chairman Denis Duverne and UBS executive Elena Principato-Wettstein as the latest to the board.