Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
July 19, 2010

Major renovations, infrastructure upgrades and a sluggish global economy left the Vatican City State budget in the red; however, donations to the pope were up from recent years. The 2009 fiscal period marked the third year in a row that Vatican expenses outpaced revenues. The budget of Vatican City State, which includes the Vatican Museums and post office, ended 2009 with a deficit of $9.8 million, the Vatican said in notes on the budgets released July 10. The separate budget of the Holy See, which includes the offices of the Roman Curia, finished 2009 with a registered deficit of more than $5.15 million. The figures were released in early July after a three-day meeting of a council of cardinals charged with reviewing the Vatican budgets. In explaining the city-state's deficit, the council's press statement mentioned that the Vatican Museums had opened new exhibition spaces and had extended visiting hours, which means the payroll grew. Vatican City is also launching a major overhaul of its telecommunications infrastructure in which a high-speed fiber optic network will be installed over some 250 miles.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Amidst the excavation of a former Irish mother-and-baby home, Catholic experts are urging journalists to carefully fact-check their reporting after many prior accounts of the issue have featured erroneous details.
July 16 marks 80 years since the first atomic bomb was detonated. The specter of nuclear annihilation has been with us ever since.
James T. KeaneJuly 15, 2025
David Corenswet in a scene from "Superman" (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
The first time we see the titular hero of James Gunn’s new film “Superman,” he doesn’t descend from the heavens. He plummets.
John DoughertyJuly 15, 2025
If we imagine ourselves as satisfying a God who will “give us” things only if we do the “right things,” then our relationship with God becomes less a friendship and more a chore.
James Martin, S.J.July 15, 2025