File photo dated November 2018 shows Italian Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints in his office at the Vatican. A Vatican court on Saturday sentenced a once powerful Italian cardinal to five years and six months in jail for financial crimes at the end of a historic trial. Angelo Becciu, 75, a former adviser to Pope Francis who was once considered a papal contender himself, was the most senior clergyman in the Catholic Church to face a Vatican criminal court. He and nine other defendants, including financiers, lawyers and ex-Vatican employees, were on trial for accusations of financial crimes focused on an opaque London property deal. At the heart of the trial is the 350-million-euro ($ 380-million) purchase of a luxury property in London, as part of an investment that began in 2014 and ended up costing the Vatican tens of millions of euros. The trial, which began in July 2021, has shone a light on the Holy See's murky finances, which Pope Francis has sought to clean up since taking the helm of the Catholic Church in March 2013. Photo by Eric Vandeville/ABACAPRESS.COM