Paul “Mickey” Pohl, Director
Mickey Pohl is a retired Partner Attorney at Jones Day, a global law firm with offices around the world. Mickey has extensive experience representing Catholic dioceses, universities, colleges, charitable organizations, and religious orders in matters pertaining to religious freedom. He was the head of the Jones Day team which successfully sued the U.S. government over the contraception mandate in Obamacare.
Mr. Pohl also has a wide array of experience serving on the Board of Directors of nonprofit entities. In addition to serving on the Board of the Friends of the Vatican, he also serves as the Chairman of the Board of The Vatican Observatory Foundation, as well as on the Boards of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and The Foundation Maria Thron in Austria.
Mr. Pohl graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1970, served in the U.S. Marine Corps (1971-1972), and received the Navy Achievement Medal in 1972 for his service at Headquarters Marine Corps. Following his military service, he graduated cum laude in 1975 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review and an intern to Judge Joseph Weis of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. After graduating, he was a Law Clerk to Justice Samuel J. Roberts of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, before joining Jones Day in Cleveland in 1976.
Mr. Pohl is a Knight of The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great and has been awarded the Pro Eccesia et Pontifice medal by the late Pope Benedict XVI. He and his wife, Kaya, have three children and five grandchildren, and reside in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania.
The Endowment for Long Term Stability
Safeguarding the financial future of the Friends of the Vatican is essential to carrying out its mission long-term, and gifting to the Foundation’s Endowment is the best and most impactful way to safeguard that future. Each year, the Board of Directors takes a percentage of the investment income from the Endowment to make grants towards its mission of ensuring the preservation of Vatican City.
Gifts to the Endowment are perpetual, as the Board of Directors never draws from the corpus of the gift, but rather only uses a portion of the investment income generated to make grants while continuing to compound the fund. This ensures long-term financial stability and growth for the Friends of the Vatican.
Donating to the Foundation’s Endowment is a gift for the future, as its impact will continue to be realized forever. Investing in the Foundation’s Endowment helps to create a sustainable future for the Friends of the Vatican’s initiatives and for the preservation of Vatican.
