Latest news with #'sPence
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pope Leo XIV Set to Receive $33,000 a Month as Vatican Pays for Every Luxury in His New Life of Power
Call it pennies from heaven. Newly installed Pope Leo XIV is entitled to a massive monthly stipend that's estimated at $33,000, sources say — in addition to other pricey perks as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Even though Pope Leo may have plenty of dough at his disposal, the 69-year-old pontiff's every need will be provided for by the Vatican, which is the world's smallest independent country. That means the leader of the globe's 1.4 billion Catholics — who was formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost — won't have to pay a cent for ecclesiastical clothing, accommodations, travel, food, health care or security. Leo will have access to a fleet of vehicles, official residences and a generous allowance for donations for his spiritual stewardship. He will also oversee a vast financial empire that includes Peter's Pence — an annual collection from Catholics around the world that generates over $25 million annually for support of the pope's mission and charitable works. Chicago-born Pope Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis — who was known for his humble lifestyle — refused any personal income during his tenure from 2013 to 2025. Pope Francis also famously chose to live at the modest Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse on Vatican grounds — instead of the traditional papal residence in the opulent Apostolic Palace. Sources suggest Pope Leo may follow in Pope Francis' footsteps and have his salary directed to charity. While the first American pope answers to a higher authority, he may still have to pony up to Uncle Sam — unless U.S. officials give him a pass on filing a tax return. Edward A. David, an assistant professor in the department of theology and religious studies at King's College London, says, 'U.S. tax law claims the right to tax all citizens on their worldwide income. There is no blanket exception for religious personnel nor for people who are diplomats/head of state for foreign countries such as the Vatican.'
India.com
14-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Does a Pope gets paid and how does the Vatican make money? Know Pope Leo XIV's net worth and lifestyle
Does a Pope gets paid and how does the Vatican make money? Know Pope Leo XIV's net worth and lifestyle Robert Francis Prevost has just been handed one of the most significant roles in the world and it comes with a major upgrade in responsibility! After being chosen by 133 cardinals during the sacred conclave at the Vatican, he appeared before a sea of people from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. Now officially Pope Leo, this new title marks a remarkable step up in his spiritual journey. But here's a question that naturally comes up: with a promotion this huge, does the Pope get a raise like people do in regular jobs? Let's break it down. Does the Pope earn a salary? Surprisingly, no Popes don't receive a paycheck in the usual sense. Instead, everything they need is fully provided by the Vatican. That includes their living quarters, meals, travel arrangements, clothing, and any other essentials. Think of it more as a full support system rather than a wage. Before becoming Pope Leo, during his time as a cardinal, Prevost was believed to have earned a monthly stipend of around 4,000 to 5,000 Pound. But now, with his new role, money isn't really part of the picture his life is fully taken care of by the Church. How does the Vatican make money? Though it's often seen as a spiritual center, the Vatican operates much like a small, independent nation which it technically is. As the world's tiniest country, it keeps its financial engine running through a mix of donations, investments, and various income-generating ventures. One of the biggest sources of funds is Peter's Pence, a special collection taken up in Catholic churches worldwide each year. This goes toward supporting the Pope's charitable missions and the functioning of the Roman Curia (the Church's central administration). Reports suggest that Peter's Pence alone brings in around USD 27 million annually, with the United States contributing the most. Other major contributors include countries like Italy, Brazil, and Germany. Who is Pope Leo XIV? The newly chosen Pope Leo XIV is not only the latest spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics worldwide he also marks history as the first American-born Pope. Born in Chicago, the 69-year-old has spent much of his life working globally, especially in Latin America as a missionary and later a bishop. Holding citizenship in both the United States and Peru, he most recently oversaw one of the Vatican's key departments responsible for bishop appointments. Net worth of Pope Leo XIV? Pope Leo XIV's personal net worth hasn't been made public yet and likely never will be in detail. That said, Popes generally don't hold personal wealth in the way celebrities or business figures do. Instead, their needs are fully met by the Church. They live without personal income but are provided with everything from housing to healthcare. For comparison, it's believed that Pope Francis, the predecessor of Pope Leo XIV, had a net worth of around USD 16 million, according to Marca. Interestingly, despite being entitled to an annual salary of roughly USD 32,000, he often gave it away either to family members or charitable causes opting to live humbly.
New European
08-05-2025
- Business
- New European
The new Pope's first crisis
Published formally by the Holy See and known in Italian as a chirografo, the order was, in fact, more of a desperate, 1th-hour plea to the church's 1.4 billion faithful to up their donations and help boost the Vatican's ailing coffers. On February 11, just three days before he was hospitalised with pneumonia, Pope Francis signed a special directive to fix a problem that haunted not just his papacy but that of his predecessor, Benedict – and will now be placed squarely at the feet of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV. Why? Because despite 12 years of financial reform under Pope Francis' watch, years of asset fire-sales, hiring freezes, cuts to senior salaries and even a headline-grabbing move to force cardinals to pay 21st-century rents for their Roman digs, the curia is in danger of bankruptcy. Today, the Holy See has not only tripled its budget deficit but faces the stark reality that its pension fund is 1.2 billion euro in the red with liabilities it just can't cover. And it has not produced a formal budget document to prove Francis' desire for 'transparent and responsible management at the service of the Church' since 2022. According to the last published budget report – now more than three years old – curial operations were set to cost 796 million euro a year and, after donations including Peter's Pence, it forecast an operating loss of 33.4 million. Of course, the Vatican is not a 'business' although a good two-thirds of its income comes from commercial returns from investments, assets and its global real estate portfolio. At the same time, only an estimated one-fifth of its property can generate income as so much of its holdings are churches and basilicas or hospitals and educational institutions that have never made profits. And while every year, nearly seven million people visit the Vatican and pay entry fees to see the Catholic Church's vast artistic and architectural patrimony in Rome, ticket sales are simply not enough to pay for insurance and upkeep, let alone the wages of a civil service, a security force and global network of embassies. When Pope Francis was elected by the conclave in March 2013, it was made very clear just hours after the vote by cardinal Timothy Dolan, bishop of New York, that reform of the Vatican's sclerotic financial affairs was a key priority for electing cardinals. Suggested read: The pope's final saint In fact, Dolan broke with protocol, pre-empting a formal Vatican press conference afterwards to tell the world, 'I will sleep well tonight… the Church is in good hands.' Francis himself hinted back to the mandate he was given on his election in a letter to the College of Cardinals as late as last year, when he wrote that demands for reform urged in the past by so many 'were 'far-sighted'. But he was also forced to acknowledge that his program of change has not been enough: 'A further effort is now necessary on the part of all, so that a 'zero deficit' [budget] is not only a theoretical goal, but a truly achievable one,' the pope wrote. 'We must be aware that today we are facing strategic decisions to be taken with great responsibility, because we are called to guarantee the future of the Mission.' Looking back, even Francis' greatest critics would be hard pressed to accuse him of not trying to drag the Vatican's finances into the modern world and into compliance with global anti-money laundering regulations, strict auditing procedures and properly monitored accounting systems – overseen by lay, external experts. One of his first acts was to create the new secretariat for the economy to take over the running of the Vatican's finances and appointed the outspoken Australian cardinal George Pell to head it, flanked by the Vatican's first auditor general, former Deloitte chief, Libero Milone. A former chief executive of Invesco Europe, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, was head-hunted to run the Vatican Bank. Very quickly, thousands of accounts were checked, analysed and closed in a bid to purge the bank of clients who might be using the Vatican to evade taxes or worse, launder money gained illicitly. History would later show that as Pell, in tandem with the auditor, Milone, homed in on problematic and shadowy investments, including the now notorious £400 million Sloane Avenue property scandal, Pope Francis initially, wrongly backed some of those working against change like the now disgraced Cardinal, Angelo Becciu. Ultimately however, the two-year Vatican trial of the century into financial crimes would reveal that the problem lay not with the Pope's will but in the colossal, internal resistance to reform from those George Pell had quickly described witheringly as the 'old guard'. The pushback at the time, said a source working at the coalface, was absolute and 'everything was put in a drawer, nothing got approved.' Under Pell's leadership, plans had also been drawn up to try to build more reliable and long-term revenue streams for the Holy See. A ledger of land and buildings not properly used was created and plans to re-develop sites for industrial, residential, or mixed use put on the drawing board. Discussion about securing external partnerships to develop the sites were underway which would have seen the signing of long-term leasehold agreements creating income which could stretch out for decades. In the end however, Pell and his team were unable to harness curial will outside their department. In 2017, the Australian cardinal returned to his homeland to face historic sex charges (later quashed) and Milone and his deputy were sacked in mysterious circumstances. Eight years later, their wrongful dismissal case and demand for damages has yet to be resolved by the Holy See. Last year, after the sentencing of nine Vatican officials, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, for financial crimes, Francis himself acknowledged, if somewhat diplomatically, the internal war waged against his financial reforms as 'the difficulties and, at times, [the] temptation of immobility and rigidity in the face of change'. Libero Milone's view, understandably, is more pointed: 'Pope Francis had the will and wanted the reforms. But even now there appears to be no strategy, no will to truly reform the way the Vatican manages its patrimony and its finances,' he told me. 'It is not enough to make small, piecemeal decisions – there is a need for a blueprint, a master plan to right the ship and bring it into the 21st century and most importantly, the will to implement it.'
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 key things to know about Giovanni Angelo Becciu — the convicted cardinal demanding to be part of the conclave to choose the next pope
A cardinal convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican is claiming he should be able to participate in the upcoming conclave that will meet to decide who will replace Pope Francis. Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, 76, was asked by Francis to step down from his position and resign all 'rights and privileges' of being a cardinal at the Vatican in 2020 after he was accused of being involved in embezzlement and fraud. Three years later, Becciu was convicted of the charges and given a five-and-a-half-year sentence. Since his conviction, Becciu has maintained his innocence. On Tuesday, he told a Sardinian newspaper that despite being labeled by the Holy See's press office a 'non-elector' in the conclave, 'there was no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave nor a request for my explicit renunciation in writing.' Here's what we know about Becciu: Becciu has been involved with the Vatican since 2001. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as substitute for general affairs in the secretariat of state, similar to a chief of staff position, making him the third most powerful person at the Vatican. Francis made Becciu a cardinal in 2018 and then appointed him prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, another powerful position where he was in charge of the Vatican's saint-making department. The Vatican issued a statement in September 2020 announcing that Francis had accepted Becciu's resignation from his position at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and 'his rights connected to the cardinalate.' The Vatican identified Becciu as 'His Eminence Cardinal,' which means that Becciu still had the cardinal title but none of the rights. At the time, it was reported that Becciu was involved in a financial scandal involving the Vatican's investment in a real estate deal in London. In 2014, the Vatican entered a real estate venture by investing $200 million in a fund run by Raffaele Mincione, an Italian businessman, to grant the Vatican 45% ownership of a luxury building in London's Chelsea neighborhood, the Associated Press reported. The investment funds came from the asset portfolio of the secretariat of state, which Becciu had been No. 2 in at the time, and is funded by Peter's Pence donations from Catholics around the world. Peter's Pence donations are forwarded to the pope to help maintain the Vatican and donate to charities. When Becciu left the position in 2018 after Francis named him a cardinal, Becciu's successor wanted to end the fund and buy out the full building to avoid losing more money. Instead, the buyout deal cost the Vatican millions of euros, which launched the investigation into Becciu and other Vatican employees involved in organizing the deal in 2014. Becciu wasn't investigated only because of the London building. He was also accused of funneling money to his home diocese of Sardinia, BBC News reported. In 2022, Becciu was accused of sending large amounts of money to Australia when an Australian cardinal was on trial. Becciu and nine other defendants — including financiers, lawyers and former Vatican employees — faced charges including embezzlement, fraud, money laundering and abuse of office, according to BBC News. After two years of trials, the Vatican court sentenced Becciu to five and a half years in jail for financial crimes in December 2023. Becciu became the first cardinal to be tried and convicted by the Vatican's criminal court. 'We reaffirm Cardinal Angelo Becciu's innocence and will appeal,' Becciu's lawyer, Fabio Viglione, said after the verdict. 'We respect the ruling, but we will definitely appeal.' Becciu and his lawyer have appealed the 2023 ruling. While the appeal process is ongoing, Becciu has avoided jail and has been allowed to live in his Vatican apartment. Whether Becciu can participate in the upcoming conclave will likely be decided by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is overseeing the conclave proceedings, CNN reported. The official start date of the conclave has not been formally announced, so it's unclear when Re and Parolin will make their decision.
