PADUA – ‘Il Messaggero di Sant’Antonio’, a monthly publication read by millions across the world, has been forced to close after “unscrupulous management” from monks, Italy’s National Press Federation (FNSI) reports on Friday.

 The FNSI heavily criticised the “unacceptable … conduct” of the magazine, run by the monks of the Basilica of Padua, “even before the closure was announced,” detailing “contractual violations” and a “refusal to show balance sheets.”

 According to representatives of the publication, the magazine “is no longer able to economically sustain the current personnel costs,” despite having tried “all possible initiatives” to keep it running.  Figures cited by Il Fatto Quotidiano indicate that from 2013 to 2017, losses of around 10 million euros were incurred by ‘Il Messaggero di Sant’Antonio’ and 2.7 million of these came in 2017. The publication conceded that such losses were already “particularly evident in 2015” and had been present “in recent decades.”

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