Il Presidente del Governatorato all’incontro promosso dall’International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) su leadership femminile e Università cattoliche

Al centro la persona umana e i suoi bisogni

Governare un’organizzazione complessa come lo Stato della Città del Vaticano, orientata al bene comune e allo sviluppo integrale della persona umana, richiede molteplici competenze e collaborazione tra persone e direzioni. Lo ha sottolineato Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Presidente del Governatorato dello Stato della Città del Vaticano, sabato 25 ottobre, durante l’incontro sul tema “Women Leadership and Catholic Universities”, svoltosi a Roma, sabato 25 ottobre, promosso dal programma esecutivo dell’International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU).

Un buon modello di governance - ha spiegato il Presidente nel suo intervento su “Governance, Financial sustainability and the Challenge of a Multi-stakeholder Institution” - deve mettere al centro la persona umana e i suoi bisogni. Ma anche gestire risorse limitate in modo equo, trasparente e responsabile, controllare e valutare gli effetti delle decisioni sull’ambiente esterno.

Inoltre, chi guida deve essere attento e consapevole che ogni scelta quotidiana influisce, direttamente o indirettamente sulle tre dimensioni basilari dell’esistenza umana: Dio, gli altri e la creazione.

Il programma esecutivo “Women Leadership and Catholic Universities” è un’esperienza immersiva pensata per rettori, presidenti e vice-cancellieri, pronti a impegnarsi nel futuro della leadership. I partecipanti hanno riflettuto sul legame tra governance, fede e innovazione. Più che una formazione, si tratta di un catalizzatore: fornire ai leader le competenze, la visione e le reti necessarie per plasmare l’istruzione superiore cattolica in un contesto globale in rapida evoluzione.

D’altronde, secondo i dati dell’IFCU, oggi le donne rappresentano una risorsa sottorappresentata nella leadership dell’istruzione superiore cattolica, occupando solo l’8% delle posizioni di vertice a livello mondiale. Il programma esecutivo offre un’opportunità unica per formare e rafforzare una nuova generazione di donne leader in grado di combinare l’eccellenza accademica con i valori cattolici, guidando le istituzioni con sicurezza, integrità e audacia.

L’IFCU mira a contribuire al progresso della conoscenza e alla costruzione di un mondo più giusto e più umano alla luce della fede cristiana e grazie al lievito del Vangelo. La Federazione persegue questo obiettivo promuovendo una riflessione comune sulla missione delle università e attraverso una cooperazione attiva tra gli istituti cattolici di istruzione superiore e di ricerca; rappresenta le università cattoliche nei rapporti con le organizzazioni e le istituzioni internazionali; contribuisce allo sviluppo degli studi superiori con un approccio cattolico; mira soprattutto a garantire un'elevata qualità del lavoro universitario e ad avere un'adeguata distribuzione delle istituzioni accademiche cattoliche in diverse parti del mondo.

Fu sotto l’impulso dell'Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano e della Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen di Nimega, che nel 1924 furono compiuti i primi sforzi per riunire le università cattoliche in una Federazione. Nel 1925, in occasione di una riunione presso l’Institut Catholique de Paris, quattordici istituzioni furono rappresentate in una prima Assemblea Generale. Nel 1927 fu pubblicato il primo elenco delle università cattoliche. Fu solo dopo la seconda guerra mondiale che la Fœderatio Universitatum Catholicarum prese davvero il via. Istituita con decreto della Santa Sede nel 1948, fu riconosciuta da Papa Pio XII nel 1949. Il nome Federazione Internazionale delle Università Cattoliche (FIUC) fu adottato nel 1965. La FIUC collabora con la Segreteria di Stato, il Dicastero per la Cultura e l’Educazione, l’AVEPRO e vari dicasteri, tra cui il Dicastero per il Servizio dello Sviluppo Umano Integrale.

Di seguito l’intervento in inglese di Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Presidente del Governatorato:

Governance, Financial sustainability

and the Challenge of a Multi-stakeholder Institution

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the chairs of the IFCU Executive Program for their kind invitation. It is indeed a pleasure and honor to be here today. In this talk, I will share some reflections on the topic of governance from the management perspective of a unique organization: the Vatican City State. I trust that some aspects of these reflections may be relevant to your experience in leading smaller and larger institutions of Catholic higher education.

The Vatican City State is the smallest state in the world, encompassing about 108 acres with currently 887 inhabitants, including both citizens and residents. It was created by the Treaty between the Holy See and Italy on 11 February 1929 (the Lateran Treaty) in order to ensure that the Holy See enjoys “absolute and visible independence and to guarantee its indisputable sovereignty even in the international field”[1]. It has the inspiring yet complex mission of serving the Holy Father in his pastoral work and responding to the needs of the Roman Curia, which assists him in his daily activities. Many organizational entities contribute to the operational functioning of Vatican City State by managing buildings, infrastructure, natural and artistic heritage, financial and economic matters, technology and telecommunications, healthcare, security, and safety.

Thus, the governance of the Vatican City State is expected to carry out three primary tasks that are common to all public management, albeit in a unique manner[2]:

1. Managing networks of relations with multiple entities.
2. Managing common goods.
3. Interpreting the ideals, needs, interests, and expectations of its working community.

Regarding the first task, we must acknowledge that any organization today needs to interact with the external environment because it is never fully self-sufficient. Transnational legality also sometimes makes compliance more difficult to achieve. The complexity of global challenges requires a multi-dimensional approach, which often necessitates multiple competencies and skills. Successful leadership requires networking, the capacity to bring people together, openness to learning multiple skills, and the ability to combine specific knowledge synergistically. It is crucial to create a working environment that supports and facilitates information exchange within and outside the organization and enhances active participation. A culture of trust and collaboration among people and departments, supported by upper management, can facilitate this exchange.

With reference to the second task - the economic dimension is of particular concern - regarding the protection and use of territory, the construction and maintenance of infrastructure, and the protection of the State's artistic and cultural heritage, particularly through the activities of the Vatican Museums. Economic choices are never ethically neutral. They can promote man in his totality or favor exclusion. They can cultivate communion and fraternity or provoke inequality and inequity.

As required by canon law, the "diligence of the good father of a family" is the general principle to which all administrators must adhere in carrying out their duties. This principle is particularly relevant in relation to ecclesiastical goods (can. 1284 § 1 CIC)[3]. As managers, we are called to act as enlightened stewards of limited resources. Any administrator is responsible for caring for, protecting, and managing with fidelity and prudence what has been entrusted to him or her for a certain time. Particular attention should be given to the most vulnerable. This is especially true for leaders and organizations that work for the common good and for the integral development of the person^[4].

Managing shared goods becomes a testimony to coherence, reliability, and service to a human economy centered on satisfying needs rather than pursuing profits[5]. In the broader context of this responsibility, today, the Church knows the need to review management methods at all levels and in various domains, especially in light of her openness to the outside world and interaction with the multiplicity of actors operating within it according to defined norms. This is, in part, the "premise" of the economic reform initiated by Pope Francis. Control, reporting, and supervision should not be seen as limitations of autonomy but as tools that promote communion and responsibility[6].

Principles of transparency and accountability are now mandatory for all those Catholic entities that intend to operate in a balanced and conscious manner in the economic field^[7]. This requires competence and professionalism. It is essential, therefore, to ensure that religious men and women also be formed with adequate professional skills^[8].

The economic dimension of sustainability requires keeping clear the distinction between means and ends. Reversing this distinction is one of the great challenges of the third millennium^[9], when the objectives are dictated by economics and technology, instead of providing the tools to achieve the common good, which must be increased and preserved for future generations[10].

The third task requires particular attention to human resources. A sensitivity to integral human development—a core principle of Catholic Social Teaching—calls for a humanistic management model focused on the needs of individuals and their overall development. A recent McKinsey article about the evolution of leadership in contemporary organizations stated that, rather than directing and controlling people, leaders should serve the people they lead[11]. In other words, the focus is shifting from maximizing value for shareholders to making the lives of team members easier physically, cognitively, and emotionally.

Modern organizational leadership involves bringing people together to encourage interaction, multi-disciplinary exchange, and collaboration[12]. Mastering this type of leadership requires developing and maintaining positive relationships with others[13]. Empathy and understanding are key factors today, especially as research has shown an increase in mental health issues and incivility at work following the pandemic, which negatively impacts personal well-being[14].

When discussing integral human development, it is important to mention the current challenges and opportunities posed by the recent development of artificial intelligence (AI)[15]. The Governorate of the Vatican City State has begun taking steps to encourage internal reflection on the ethical use of AI by promoting regular training courses on digital technology, particularly artificial intelligence. Furthermore, on January 1, 2025, the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State issued guidelines on artificial intelligence that are now in effect.

These guidelines promote concrete measures to ensure the ethical development and use of AI in Vatican City. They address the need for security and transparency. Furthermore, the guidelines provide a framework for technological advancement committed to fraternity and peace while ensuring the fair and sustainable distribution of the benefits of AI.

Finally, the overarching principle that comprises the three tasks I briefly described in relation to the governance of Vatican City State is the environmental dimension. Many of the Vatican City State’s current efforts are related to protecting our common home, a value upheld by both Pope Francis and Pope Leo. On 6 July 2022, the Vatican City State applied for accession to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The application was ratified and entered into force on 4 October 2022, on the condition that the Vatican commit to applying its provisions within the Leonine walls. The limited geographical size of Vatican City makes it possible to pursue ambitious green energy and self-sufficiency objectives. However, due to its important mission of serving the Holy Father and the Roman Curia, positive strategies in this area of development adopted by Vatican City State can also profoundly impact the international community and set an example for other countries and organizations to follow.

In conclusion, governing any complex organization – like the Vatican City State – that strives to be oriented to the common good and to pursue the integral human development of its members requires decision-makers who can combine skills and cultivate collaboration. This model of governance must remain centered on the needs of the human person; allocate limited resources to satisfy those needs while guaranteeing transparency and accountability; and verify and monitor the impact of implemented strategies on the external environment. It is a governance model that requires leaders capable of care, aware of the fact that their day-to-day decisions affect, directly or indirectly, the three basic dimensions of human existence: God, others, and creation.

Thank you.

[1] Treaty agreed between the Holy See and Italy, Preamble, 11 February 1929. 

[2] Cf. E. Borgonovi, I manager pubblici tra evoluzione e cambio di paradigma, «Rivista Italiana di Public Management» 3 (2020) 17-40.

[3] Cf. Motu Proprio On Transparency, Control and Competition in the Procedures for the Award of Public Contracts of the Holy See and Vatican City State (19 May 2020).

[4] It is so stated in the incipit of the Motu Proprio Fidelis Dispensator et Prudens (24 February 2014).

[5] Cf. Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 53-57; R. Petrini – A. Sacco, Arricchirsi, Cittadella Editrice, Assisi 2024, 57-59.

[6] Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Economy at the Service of the Charism and Mission, LEV, Vatican City State 2018, 41-44.

[7] In the synodal perspective, the need to introduce structures and processes of verification that help to account for the exercise of one's responsibilities in the local Churches was reconfirmed (cf. General Secretariat of the Synod 2024:3b).

[8] Carolyn Woo (2022) believes that modern leadership operates through the ability to gather people together and the capacity to promote relationships, in order to enhance consistence and reciprocity within an organization.

[9] Hence Pope Francis’ explicit call on politics not to submit to the economy, just as the latter must not submit to the efficiency-oriented paradigm of technocracy, as expressed in his social encyclical Laudato Si’ (2015),109.

[10] Cf. E. Beccalli, Per una nuova economia, Il Sole 24 Ore, Milano 2024, 3-6.

[11] Cf. McKinsey Explainers, What is leadership?, August 2022, 2.

[12] Cf. C.Y. Woo, Rising, Orbis, New York 2022, 21-23.

[13] Cf. J.M. Kouzes and B.Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge, John Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken 2017, 17-18.

[14] Cf. T. Brower, Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill According To Research, «Forbes», 19 September 2021; see also C. Porath, The Price of Incivility”, «Harvard Business Review» 91 (2013) 114-121.

[15] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and Dicastery for Culture and Education, Note Antiqua et Nova, 2025, 1; Leo XIV, Message to the Participants in the Second Annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Corporate Governance, 19-20 June 2025; Decree n. DCCII of the Pontifical Commission of Vatican City State, Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence, 16 December 2024.