ROME (CathNews) — An Italian man whose company manufactured electronic gates has left assets worth 1.7 billion euros ($2.19 billion) to the Catholic Church, said an AFP report in the Herald Sun.
The donation in Michelangelo Manini’s will includes a majority stake in his company, news reports said.
Manini, 50, died on March 17. He also left properties, bank accounts and shareholdings to the diocese of Bologna, which took part in its first board meeting of the company, FAAC, on Monday.
“We will continue the work of our benefactor in the interests of FAAC and its employees,” Andrea Moschetti, the lawyer appointed by the Church to manage its assets, was quoted as saying by business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
Mr Moschetti also ruled out selling the Church’s stake to a group of French minority shareholders who hold 34 per cent of the company.