An appeals court has ordered a retrial of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, the first cardinal ever convicted by the Vatican's criminal court, citing procedural errors in his 2023 prosecution. The ruling comes three years after Becciu and nine other defendants were sentenced to prison terms for financial crimes including fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering related to a London real estate deal.

Becciu, once chief of staff to Pope Francis, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison before the conviction was overturned. The case, dubbed the 'trial of the century' by Catholic media, represents a major test of the Vatican's ability to hold papal insiders accountable. Prosecutors were found to have withheld evidence during the original proceedings, violating defendants' rights.

The retrial, scheduled to begin June 22, will focus only on charges where defendants were originally convicted, with acquittals remaining in place. The case's outcome could affect Pope Francis's legacy, particularly given that he secretly modified Vatican law during the first trial in ways that defense lawyers argued unfairly benefited prosecutors.