SALT LAKE CITY — Gérald Caussé, a high-ranking official in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who oversaw its finances and a global temple building boom, became the faith’s newest apostle on Thursday.
Caussé, 62, joins an all-male governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which sits just under the church’s president and his two top counselors. Apostles help set church policy while overseeing the faith’s many business interests.
With his appointment, he joins the order of succession to the church presidency, which is decided by seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve.
A native of France, Caussé spent the past decade as a presiding bishop who managed the church’s money and welfare programs. Under his leadership, the church increased its humanitarian spending and dotted the globe with lavish temples where the faith’s most sacred ceremonies take place.
The faith known widely as the Mormon church does not disclose or discuss its finances, but the latest filings from its investment arm, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc., valued its portfolio at $58 billion. The church’s businesses include real estate, farms, publishing, life insurance, nonprofits, universities, a Polynesian cultural center in Hawaii and an upscale open-air shopping mall in Salt Lake City.
Caussé has at times been the official tasked with defending the church’s secrecy surrounding its finances, saying in 2020, “