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postulator, who opens the cause, prepares the investigation, documents it, and, over the years, bolsters the file with acts and findings that will hopefully lead to the beatification or canonization of the candidate. Currently there are 2,500 pending causes filed by 450 postulators.
    The Congregation was headed by a staunch ally of Bertone, Cardinal Angelo Amato, who was also a close associate of the previous Pope. Amato had taken Bertone’s place at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as the deputy of Joseph Ratzinger, who after his election to the throne of St. Peter made Amato the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
    This powerful cardinal grasped the exact meaning of the message forwarded by Versaldi: the Pope knew where to strike. He was well informed and he acted quickly. COSEA gave the departments only a few days to collect the information: “While taking into consideration the period in which the present request is made, we expect to receive the documentation by July 31.” Eight days, for a Curia accustomed to peaceful summer months with little work and a Pope at Castel Gandolfo taking refuge from the summer heat, was an unprecedented timeline.
    There were various explanations for this tight deadline. First, the Commission wanted to prevent any alteration and manipulation of information: the less time for the ill-intentioned, the better. And there was an important date on the calendar. On August 3, the members of the Commission would meet for their inaugural session. They would assemble in the small conference room opposite the sacristy of the chapel, in the same place where only a few weeks earlier Francis had urged Zahra and the auditors of the Prefecture to be brave, and report wrongdoing for the sake of change.

    The Saints’ Factory
    The first meeting of the Commission was convened at noon. It was also attended by the Pope, who remained for fifty minutes, taking the floor several times to express his firm will and his encouragement to the participants. I have the minutes of that meeting in my possession. They document the Pope’s absolute clarity. (Note below that Francis is speaking—he refers to himself in the third person.)
    We at the Curia need an approach that is different, fresher than our traditional way of doing things. At the root of our problems is a nouveau riche attitude that allows money to be spent indiscriminately. In the meantime, we lose sight of the reasons for what we are doing—our goal is that the money go to help the poor and to people living in misery. The current problems are culture and a lack of responsibility. The Pope is confident that the Commission will introduce these reforms, but he realizes that we have to be cautious when we [address questions that might involve] jobs and means of subsistence for the laypeople who work at the Vatican. He insists that the Commission be courageous in making its recommendations and not look back. He will always consult the Commission before making changes, but it has no collegial authority. If the Pope disagrees with our proposals, he will discuss them with us and he will make the decision. 11
    Without reforms, the pontificate would fail. So as soon as Francis left the meeting, the members of COSEA established their program of work, with six priorities:
    1. APSA: especially the special section—the need for a strategic review and a microanalysis of its operations, including Real Estate;
    2. The management of the accounts of the postulants who work for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints;
    3. Commercial activities (supermarket, pharmacy, etc.) within the Vatican walls;
    4. Management of the hospitals;
    5. The assessment of artworks;
    6. Pensions.
    To help achieve their objectives, the Commission also turned to external advisors from the world of business consultation: giants like KPMG, McKinsey & Company, Ernst & Young, and Promontory Financial Group. A task force of seventy experts