VATICAN CITY (AP) — The world's smallest country has a big budget problem. The Vatican doesn’t tax its residents or issue bonds. It primarily finances the Catholic Church's central government ...

Pope Francis sends hugs and blessings to the faithful in an empty Vatican due to the COVID-19 outbreak after delivering his weekly prayer online, March 15, 2020 ...

According to the Rev. John Wauck, professor of church communication at the Pontifical Holy Cross University in Rome, Leo’s clothing choices are a “return to form,” and his attire similar to that worn ...

Some Vatican officials ask how the Holy See can credibly ask donors to be more generous when its own institutions are holding back. Leo will need to attract donations from outside the U.S., no ...

The Vatican has 4,249 properties in Italy and 1,200 more in London ... questions as the number of church-going Catholics in parts of the U.S. and Europe shrinks and once-full churches stand empty.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. A view of the empty St. Peter’s Square as Pope ...

Black smoke as Vatican conclave fails to elect new pope on first ballot. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Vatican City’s St Peter’s Square as cardinals voted in first ballot.

On April 21, 2025, for example, users on X and Facebook shared posts claiming Francis said: "This isn't dogma, just my thought: I like to think of hell as being empty. I hope it is." ...

New donors . The Vatican bank and the city state's governorate, which controls the museums, also make annual contributions to the pope. As recently as a decade ago, the bank gave the pope around ...

The Vatican doesn’t tax its residents or issue bonds, and it's got a very big budget problem. It primarily finances the Catholic Church’s central government through donations that have ...

In the U.S., donation baskets are passed around at every Sunday Mass. Not so at the Vatican. Untapped real estate. The Vatican has 4,249 properties in Italy and 1,200 more in London, Paris, Geneva ...