The Vatican received around 54.3 million euros in 2024. This money came from donations made to Peter’s Pence fund.
This fund allocates the vast majority of its donations to the operational expenses of the Holy See. For example, to cover the Curia’s budget or to maintain the nunciatures.
The small remaining portion—in this case, 13.3 million euros—was used for the Pope’s charitable projects around the world.
All of this money reaches the Vatican through three main channels: the parish collection on June 29, direct transfers on the Peter’s Pence website, and gifts from individuals left from their wills.
As for the types of donors, they are usually divided into two major groups. On one hand, foundations and religious institutions, which contributed one third of the total donations. This group slightly decreased donations compared to 2023 with their share dropping from 31% to 25%.
The second and largest group consists of dioceses and faithful individuals. In total, they contributed more than 40 million euros, which amounted to 75% of what the Holy See received in 2024.
From this latter group, we know which countries the donations came from and how much they contributed. The ranking is led by the United States, which continues to be the country that donates the most money to the Vatican. Last year, the U.S. donated nearly 14 million euros.
In second place, France follows with 8 million euros, and from there countries like Italy, Germany, South Korea, and Mexico contributed around 3 million euros. Spain ranks ninth, having donated 800,000 euros in 2024.
Given the summary of revenue, here are the expenses. The expenses of the Vatican exceeded what is received, so to cover them, the Vatican had to rely on assets outside of Peter’s Pence. In 2024, the expenses totaled 74.5 million euros, nearly 30 million less than the previous year.
This reduction of spending by the Holy See is closely tied to Pope Francis’s budget cuts, which caused Vatican costs to drop from 90 million to 61 million euros in just one year.
These numbers reflect Pope Francis’s papacy, since they were pulled from 2024. Next year, the first financial report under Pope Leo XIV is expected to be released, a reflection that will fall under his entire pontificate.
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