The 2023 St. Peter’s Coin report highlights an increase in donations compared to the previous year. Although the expenditure intended to support initiatives in favor of the most deprived was greater than the income, the generosity of the faithful brought an additional 5 million euros.
Antonella Palermo – Vatican City
In 2023, the revenue from the Fund of the Pence of Saint Peter, intended to meet the needs of the universal Church and to support the charitable action of the Pope towards the most deprived, amounted to 52 million euros (48, 4 million from donations and 3.6 million from financial products generated by remuneration of assets), while expenses amounted to 109.4 million euros.
A third of the donations come from the dioceses
The Fund is funded by three main means: the collection from churches around the world on the occasion of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, sent to the Holy See by the Italian dioceses and, through the papal representations, by foreign dioceses; direct offerings sent by bank or postal transfer, by check or through the website with credit cards and PayPal; legacies. The share received from the dioceses is 31.2%, while private donors represent 2.1%. To this is added the share coming from foundations (13.9%) and 1.2% from religious orders. Geographically, the United States is the largest benefactor, with a significant gap compared to other countries: Italy, Brazil, Germany, Korea, France and others.
236 projects funded in 76 countries
Of the 103 million spent by the Denier in 2023, 90 million euros were used to support the activities carried out by the Holy See in the service of the apostolic mission of the Pope, and 13 million to support projects of direct assistance to most deprived (families, dioceses, parishes and religious institutes in difficulty, emigrants and refugees, people affected by war and famine, communities affected by the disastrous consequences of climate change, people in need of humanitarian assistance). In 2023, the Denier of Saint-Pierre supported 236 projects in 76 countries, for a total amount of 13 million euros. The European continent was the recipient of the most significant aid, followed by Africa and the Americas. Regarding the projects implemented in Europe, half a million euros were used to finance scholarships for priests, seminarians and religious from Africa, Latin America and Asia, in order to make it possible to follow a course in pontifical universities; just under a million was given to war-torn Ukraine to sponsor various pastoral and social initiatives.
Increase in donations in 2023
In 2022, the income of the Pence was 107 million euros (more than double the figure for 2023), while expenditure was 95.5 million. However, a significant capital gain was made in 2022, thanks to the sale of real estate assets of the Peter’s Pence Fund. In fact, in 2023, donations from the faithful increased by almost 5 million euros, amounting to 48.4 million euros compared to 43.5 million in 2022. As for the support of the Pope’s apostolic mission, its scope of expenditure involves 68 dicasteries, bodies and organizations at the service of the universal mission of the Supreme Pontiff: in 2023, it represented 370.4 million euros, of which approximately 90 million were covered by the Peter’s Pence.
