Pope Leo XIV marks feast day as Vatican launches campaign to help erase its $57-68 million deficit

ROME – Pope Leo XIV connected Sunday celebrated a peculiar feast time traditionally utilized by the Catholic Church to drum up donations from the faithful, with the Vatican nether the first American pope rolling retired a caller run to impulse mean Catholics to assistance bail retired the deficit-ridden Holy See.

Leo celebrated Mass successful St. Peter’s Basilica, marking the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and repeated his connection calling for unity and communion among each Christians.

In churches astir the world, Masses connected the July 29 feast time often see a peculiar postulation for Peter’s Pence, a money which some underwrites the operations of the cardinal authorities of the Catholic Church and pays for the pope’s idiosyncratic acts of charity.

With a promotional video, poster, QR codification and website soliciting donations via recognition card, PayPal, slope transportation and station bureau transfer, the Vatican is betting this twelvemonth that an American-style fundraising transportation nether the Chicago-born Leo volition assistance support the Holy See bureaucracy afloat and erase its 50 cardinal to 60 cardinal euro ($57-68 million) structural deficit.

The video features footage of Leo’s affectional archetypal moments arsenic pope, erstwhile helium stepped retired onto the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica and aboriginal choked up arsenic helium received the fisherman’s ringing of the papacy. With an evocative soundtrack successful the background, the video superimposes a message, disposable successful respective languages, urging donations to Leo via the Peter’s Pence collection.

“With your donation to Peter’s Pence, you enactment the steps of the Holy Father,” it says. “Help him proclaim the Gospel to the satellite and widen a manus to our brothers and sisters successful need. Support the steps of Pope Leo XIV. Donate to Peter’s Pence.”

The money has been the root of ungraded successful caller years, amid revelations that the Vatican's secretariat of authorities mismanaged its holdings done atrocious investments, incompetent absorption and waste. The caller trial implicit the Vatican’s bungled concern successful a London spot confirmed that the immense bulk of Peter’s Pence contributions had funded the Holy See’s budgetary shortfalls, not papal foundation initiatives arsenic galore parishioners had been led to believe.

Between the revelations and the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed churches and canceled retired the accepted pass-the-basket postulation connected June 29, Peter’s Pence donations fell to 43.5 cardinal euros successful 2022 — a debased not seen since 1986 — that was nevertheless offset the aforesaid twelvemonth by different concern income and gross to the fund.

Donations roseate to 48.4 cardinal euros (about $56.7 million) successful 2023 and deed 54.3 cardinal euros (nearly $63.6 million) past year, according to the Peter’s Pence yearly study issued past week. But the money incurred expenses of 75.4 cardinal euros ($88.3 million) successful 2024, continuing the inclination successful which the money is exhausting itself arsenic it covers the Holy See’s budgetary shortfalls.

On apical of the fund deficit, the Vatican is besides facing a 1 cardinal euro (about $1.17 billion) shortfall successful its pension fund that Pope Francis, successful the months earlier helium died, warned was incapable successful the mean word to fulfill its obligations.

Unlike countries, the Holy See doesn't contented bonds oregon enforce income tax connected its residents to tally its operations, relying alternatively connected donations, investments and gross generated by the Vatican Museums, and income of stamps, coins, publications and different initiatives.

For years, the United States has been the top root of donations to Peter’s Pence, with U.S. Catholics contributing astir a 4th of the full each year.

Vatican officials are hoping that nether Leo’s pontificate, with caller fiscal controls successful spot and an American mathematics large moving the Holy See, donors volition beryllium reassured that their wealth won’t beryllium misspent oregon mismanaged.

“This is simply a factual mode to enactment the Holy Father successful his ngo of work to the cosmopolitan Church,” the Vatican’s system ministry said successful a property merchandise past week announcing the yearly postulation and caller promotional materials surrounding it. “Peter’s Pence is simply a motion of communion and information successful the Pope’s ngo to proclaim the Gospel, beforehand peace, and dispersed Christian charity.”

___

Associated Press religion sum receives enactment done the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with backing from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely liable for this content.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.