Vatican City, 26 February, 2025 / 10:35 pm (ACI Africa).
The Vatican on Wednesday announced that Pope Francis has created a fundraising commission to solicit donations from Catholics and bishops’ conferences as the Vatican City State and the Roman Curia continue to face budgetary and funding challenges.
The “Commissio de Donationibus pro Sancta Sede,” Latin for “Commission on Donations for the Holy See,” has six members, “whose specific task will be to encourage donations” and find benefactors for special projects within the Vatican, according to a papal decree signed Feb. 11.
Pope Francis has been making cost-cutting decisions at the Vatican in recent years as he continues attempts to reverse the institution’s struggling financial situation, including a pension fund facing a “serious prospective imbalance.”
The donation commission’s statutes, signed by Pope Francis, say the team will report directly to the pope with twice-yearly updates on their work, to be carried out with the help of an initial endowment of 300,000 euros (about $315,000).
In its fundraising campaigns, the commission should, according to the norms, emphasize the importance of donations for “the Holy Father’s mission and charitable works” and ensure the will of the donor is respected when it comes to the destination of money for specific projects.
