Pope promises that no Vatican worker will lose their job due to the Covid pandemic | Religion

Pope Francis promised Vatican employees on Monday that none of them will lose their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has severely damaged Vatican finances.

You are the most important thing here. No one is left out, no one will lose their job, ”Francis told the workers and their children at a special audience to exchange Christmas greetings.

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the Vatican’s finances, forcing it to tap into reserve funds and implement some of the strictest cost control measures ever to exist in the small city-state.

‘No one should suffer the unpleasant economic effects of this pandemic … We have to work harder to solve this problem, which is not easy.

‘There is no magic wand. We have to move forward as in the same family, ” Francis said in impromptu remarks.

Lay employees work in all of the Vatican’s administrative departments and also as gardeners, firefighters, police, maintenance workers, and in its world-famous museums.

The pandemic has dramatically slowed the flow of funds from the Vatican Museums, which received some 7 million visitors last year and represent the city’s most reliable source of income.

The museums, which generate an estimated $ 100 million a year, closed for three months in the spring during the first wave of the pandemic, reopened for a limited number of visitors during the summer, and closed again when a second wave hit Italy.

Earlier this year, top Vatican administrators ordered a freeze on promotions and hiring and a ban on overtime, travel and large events in an attempt to contain costs.