Peter’s Pence has released its annual report for 2024, the last full year of Pope Francis’s pontificate.
Newsroom, June 29, 2025, Gaudium Press – The Peter’s Pence annual report for 2024, the final full year of Pope Francis’s pontificate, disclosed a financial shortfall, with the Holy See’s charitable fund recording €58 million ($68.0 million) in income against €75.4 million ($88.4 million) in expenses, resulting in a €17.4 million ($20.4 million) deficit.
The report, released by the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy on June 27, detailed that donations accounted for the bulk of income, totaling €54.3 million ($63.7 million), with the remainder from financial and other sources. The United States led contributions with €13.7 million, representing 25.2% of all diocesan and private donations, followed by France at €8 million (15%), Italy (€2.8 million), Brazil (€1.7 million), Germany (€1.5 million), and South Korea (€1.4 million). The top ten donor countries, which also included Mexico, Ireland, Spain, and Colombia, collectively accounted for 75% of global donations. Among these, Ireland stood out, contributing €0.9 million, or approximately €0.24 per Catholic (based on an estimated 3.7 million Catholics), the highest per-capita donation. South Korea and France followed at €0.24 and €0.21 per Catholic, respectively, with the United States at €0.20. Brazil and Mexico contributed the least per Catholic, at €0.013 and €0.011, respectively. Data for countries outside the top ten was not provided, preventing a comprehensive per-capita comparison.
Dioceses provided 59% of donations, followed by foundations (22%), individuals (16%), and religious orders (3%). Notably, Vatican News, the Dicastery for Communication’s outlet, misreported the contribution from foundations as 12.2%, an error not addressed in the official release.
Peter’s Pence, the Holy See’s annual appeal to Catholics worldwide, traditionally collected around the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, enables the faithful to directly support the Pope’s charitable and missionary initiatives. The fund addresses needs such as aid for those affected by war, natural disasters, or poverty, while also sustaining the Holy See’s operations.
In 2024, Peter’s Pence supported 239 charitable projects across 66 countries, including a training and missionary center in Senegal, a new parish church in Peru, and a hostel in Thailand. Of the €75.4 million in expenses, €74.5 million ($87.3 million) went toward contributions, with €61.2 million ($71.7 million) supporting the Holy See’s apostolic mission, funding dicasteries and related entities, and €13.3 million directed to charitable aid. The remaining expenses were allocated to financial and other costs. Of the projects, 41% focused on expanding evangelizing presence, 33% on social initiatives, and 26% on sustaining evangelizing efforts.
The deficit underscores ongoing challenges in balancing the Holy See’s humanitarian and administrative commitments, a focal point as the Church navigates the transition beyond Pope Francis’s tenure.
- Raju Hasmukh with file from CWN and Catholic Herald
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