What is the annual salary of Pope Francis?

Antoine Mekary | ALETEIA | i.MEDIA

Philip Kosloski - published on 07/24/19

The answer 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.

In 2001 there were rumors that St. John Paul II made a decent salary, but the New York Times reported, “Vatican spokesman, Joaquín Navarro-Valls, ended speculation about the pope’s salary, saying, ‘The pope does not and has never received a salary.‘”

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

He does, however, have access to a large fund of charitable money that he freely distributes to those in need as he wishes. For example, according to Crux, Pope Francis gave $500,000 from the “Peter’s Pence” fund to assist nearly 75,000 people in Mexico. This is just one of many donations that he regularly makes, often in the wake of natural disasters or to areas in particular need due to war, drought, or other calamities.

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.