Partial rehearing ordered in Vatican ‘trial of the century’

By CathNews New Zealand

March 20th, 2026

Cardinal Angelo Becciu in 2018 (Wikimedia Commons)

The Vatican Court of Appeal has ordered a partial retrial in the high-profile London property finance case that resulted in Cardinal Angelo Becciu being sentenced to a prison term. Source: EWTN News.

The court ruled that key parts of the original proceedings were invalid due to procedural issues.

The case stems from the Vatican Secretariat of State’s investment of approximately £350 million in a luxury property in London’s Chelsea neighbourhood on Sloane Ave, an operation that generated estimated losses of up to €139 million for the Holy See.

In a March 17 decision, judges found a “relative nullity” in the trial involving the Secretariat of State’s investment in the London building, widely known as the “trial of the century”. The ruling does not overturn the original trial or its verdicts, but requires that portions of the case be reheard.

The original trial concluded in December 2023 after 86 hearings. The Vatican tribunal sentenced Cardinal Angelo Becciu to five years and six months in prison, along with a lifetime ban from public office, marking the first time a cardinal had ever been convicted by a Holy See court. Nine of the 10 defendants were found guilty of various charges, including embezzlement, fraud, money laundering and abuse of power.

But the Court of Appeal determined that four decrees issued by Pope Francis during the investigation – which altered procedural rules and were not publicly promulgated – undermined the legitimacy of some investigative acts. As a result, prosecutors must refile the full body of evidence by April 30, with a new timetable for proceedings to follow.

Defence attorneys had long argued that the case was compromised by incomplete evidence filings and procedural irregularities. The appeals court upheld many of those objections while maintaining that the first-instance judgement still carries legal effect.

Giovanni Angelo Becciu once worked for the Holy See’s diplomatic corps in Aotearoa New Zealand.

FULL STORY

Vatican appeals court orders partial retrial in ‘trial of the century’ finance case (By Andrea Gagliarducci/EWTN News)

Nomination of Apostolic Nuncio to Angola (Holy See)

What the Vatican court ruling means for papal sovereignty, and Cardinal Becciu (The Pillar)