Administration of the Property of the Holy See was a commission that, until 1967, administered the property of the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 other than the money in cash and Italian government bonds received when the Financial Convention attached to the Lateran Treaty of 1929 was implemented.

Its origin lay in the decision of Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...

 on 9 August 1878 to appoint his then Secretary of State also as Prefect of the Sacred Palace and Administrator of the patrimony remaining to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 after the complete loss of the Papal States

Papal States

The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...

 in 1870. In 1891 he entrusted the management of the patrimony of the Holy See to a commission of cardinals, already set up to supervise, but not manage, the administration of Peter's Pence

Peter's Pence

Peter's Pence is payment made more or less voluntarily to the Roman Catholic Church. It began under the Saxons in England and is seen in other countries. Though formally discontinued in England at the time of the Reformation, a post-Reformation payment of uncertain characteristics is seen in some...

 and of the patrimony of the Holy See. On 16 December 1926, Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...

 united with this commission the Prefecture of the Sacred Palace and the Section of the Departments of the Church.

On 15 August 1967, Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

 combined the Special Administration of the Holy See

Special Administration of the Holy See

The Special Administration of the Holy See was an office of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church from 1929 to 1967. It was established by Pope Pius XI on 7 June 1929 to manage the ₤it...

 and the Administration of the Property of the Holy See into one office, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.