…. How Much Does Pope Francis’ Earn As Salary Annually
The Catholic Church is one of the richest institutions in the world with billions of members. It is not hard to imagine that the man who sits on top of such a Church earns quite an impressive salary. We use our knowledge of big business to compare with the Catholic Church leadership, but the reality might surprise you.
As the leader of the Catholic Church in the entire world, one would assume that Pope Francis receives a generous salary in compensation for his many duties. However, the truth is quite the opposite.
Pope Francis belongs to the Society of Jesus and has taken a vow of poverty when he became a full member. This would mean he has shunned every worldly possession for the sake of Christ’s kingdom.
Every religious in the Catholic Church takes this vow too. For any other Pope who isn’t a member of a religious congregation, they would make a promise instead.
While the Pope does not receive an actual salary like the rest of us., he has all his expenses and living arrangements paid for by the Vatican. He does not have to worry about any basic things especially food or shelter.
For Francis, his living is pretty meager and has been known to even forgo a lot of the privileges enjoyed by previous popes. Poor taking care of the Poor.
Vow of Poverty
This would be even more true for Francis, who, as a member of the Society of Jesus, professed a vow of poverty when he first entered his religious community.
However, while Pope Francis does not receive any money in the form of a monthly salary, he does have all travel expenses and living arrangements paid for by the Vatican. He never has to worry about food or shelter, but he doesn’t have any income to spend on Amazon orders.
Charitable Fund
Pope Francis however has access to a large fund for charity and he gives these to those in need. He once gave about $500,000 from the “Peter’s Pence” fund to assist about 75,000 people in Mexico. He has been known to give other charitable donations too.
The Pope is especially called to live more like Jesus in his poverty and charity. And more than most Popes, Francis has shown that his is not a papacy of affluence and show but one of humility.
The pope is supposed to live after the example of Jesus, who similarly did not have a salary and depended on the generosity of others to provide for his needs during his three-year ministry, as is mentioned in Scripture.
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The Roman Catholic Church and the sovereign state of Vatican City, Pope Francis is the leading church figure providing spiritual guidance to at least 1.3 billion Catholics. Here’s how much the pope earns from his seat in the Holy See.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis is the first cardinal to ascend to papacy hailing from the Southern Hemisphere.
Despite the influence and eminence that comes with the Holy See, the Roman Catholic Church doesn’t provide any semblance of wage or salary for sitting popes.
Aside from Pope Francis’ vow of poverty, the Holy See doesn’t provide the papacy with monetary compensations, The Irish Times reported.
Instead, Vatican City provides all the needs and expenses of Pope Francis. The Roman Catholic Church then pays for the pope’s living arrangements, food and travel costs, as per Aleteia.
The Holy See is expecting a budget deficit amounting to $60 million, as per The Salt Lake Tribune. Following this, Pope Francis ordered budget cuts from cardinals and clerics working in the Vatican. Nevertheless, the pope himself is exempted from the budget cuts since he doesn’t receive any salary in the first place.
On the other hand, Benedict XVI, the first pope to renounce his papacy since 1415 and the previous pope before Pope Francis, will receive a monetary stipend from the Vatican amounting to $3,300 per month. Additionally, the Holy See will also provide housing and housekeepers to aid Benedict XVI, Hotmedia.ng has learned.
Of the 266 popes preceding him, Pope Francis is the first from the Americas and the most recent non-European cardinal to occupy the Holy See, with Syrian bishop Gregory the III of the 8th century being the last one to hold the papacy who’s not from the European countries.
