VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has provided his nulla osta to the 2021 Budget of the Holy See, proposed by the Secretariat for the Economy, by the Council for the Economy, according to the “Holy See Press Office.”

  With total revenues of 260.4 million euros and expenses of 310.1 million euros, the Holy See expects a deficit of 49.7 million euros in 2021, heavily impacted by the economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

  For the first time, with the objective of providing more visibility and transparency to the economic transactions of the Holy See – as repeatedly requested by the pope, the 2021 Budget is consolidating St. Peter’s Pence Fund (Obolo) and all dedicated Funds. With incomes of 47.3 million euros and grants of 17 million euros, the Holy See expects a net balance of 30.3 million from those items.

  Excluding Peter’s Pence and the dedicated funds, the deficit of the Holy See would be 80 million euros in 2021. Operating Incomes decreased by 21 per cent (48 million euros) compared with 2019, driven by a reduction on Commercial, Services and Real Estate activities, as well as Donations and Contributions. The budget also reflects a significant effort on cost containment, with Operating Expenses - excluding personnel costs, going down by 14 per cent (24 million euros) compared to 2019. Employment security continues to be a priority for the Holy Father in these difficult times.

  Consistent with its mission, the majority of the resources of the Holy See in 2021 will be dedicated to sustain its Apostolic activities, with 68 per cent of the total expenses, while 17 per cent are allocated to the management of the patrimony and other assets, and 15 per cent to administration and service activities.