Peter's pence

The Vatican on Friday reported that a key charitable fund, Peter’s Pence, doubled its income in 2022 to 107 million euros, or more than $166 million, even as donations from the faithful dipped slightly following years of scandal over financial mismanagement at the Holy See.

Overall, the Peter’s Pence fund, which finances the Vatican bureaucracy and the pope’s charitable projects around the world, ended 2022 with 11.5 million euros in surplus compared to an 18.4 million-euro deficit in 2021.

It’s the second year that the Holy See has published a dedicated financial statement for the Peter’s Pence fund, part of Pope Francis’ push for greater financial transparency in a bid to assure the faithful that their contributions are being put to good use.

Contributions from private individual donors and dioceses, which dedicate a specific Mass collection to the Peter’s Pence fund each June 29, recorded slight decreases in 2022, though income was more than made up for by the sale and management of the Vatican’s vast real estate holdings, the financial statement said.

Once again, the United States was the biggest overall donor to the Peter’s Pence fund, offering 13 million euros in 2022 compared to 11 million euros the previous year.