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Before the pandemic, the deficit could be extinguished by revenue from city-state infrastructure and believing victims. But last year, in 2020, the Vatican’s operating income fell by 21 percent. This was contributed by the fact that for most of the year the Vatican Museums were closed, which generally supplemented the budget of this city-state by 100 million annually. euros. In the 12 months of last year, only 1.3 million people visited. people, when in the previous year the museums received 7 million. visitors.
During the pandemic, the Vatican’s Peter’s Pence Foundation, which draws Catholic victims from various countries each year, has clearly shrunk. 2020 Pope Francis postponed the fundraising campaign for three months, but during this period the situation remained uncertain, so the fund’s income was clearly below the usual 50-65 million. AMERICAN DOLLAR.
The looming deficit will inevitably lead to spending cuts, the Vatican acknowledged in May last year. This time, after an urgent meeting of top city-state leaders, it was decided to freeze staffing, ban fringe benefits, travel, and major events.
However, Pope Francis has halved the rent on real estate owned by the Holy See, guaranteeing a third of the treasury’s income. There are 2.4 thousand in Italy. apartments and 600 offices and commercial premises, which in 2019 brought 99 million to the Vatican. euros.
The representatives of the Holy See do not naively hope that the difficult financial situation will improve in the near future, simply because the pandemic has left many doubts about the existence of God.
“The terrible pains and so many deaths raise the question of whether God is a force far greater than any theory of educational philosophy,” said Kurt Koch, director of the cardinal council.
In addition to all this, it should be mentioned that the pandemic limits the possibility of holding services. According to the cardinal, as a result, some believers may not return to church anyway.
Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, Prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, expresses similar views. According to him, even with the opening of the city-state infrastructure, increased security requirements, compliance with distances, new sanitary regulations and the projected shortage of foreign tourists will have a negative impact on ticket sales. and memories for many years.
“We have a really difficult year ahead of us,” he said.
Like the rest of the world, the coronavirus has fundamentally changed lives in the Vatican. All public mass was suspended in 2020. March, updated only in May. The Church undertook to test a new communication format with the faithful. Here’s March 27. Pope Francis prayed in the completely empty St. Peter’s Square in Rome, but the event was broadcast to all corners of the world, he writes. gazeta.ru.
The Vatican News website broadcast daily the Pope’s morning prayers, which had previously been held in private. Even sins are forgiven online.
Staff at the Vatican Museum, whose closure has hit the city-state budget so hard, have taken a break to change the format of their work. Local guide Livia Galante makes no secret of the fact that before the pandemic, her duties reminded her of hell.
“In the past, the museum has experienced what the World Tourism Organization calls tourist overcrowding: overcrowding, when tourists are impressed. 2019 “Someone passes out every day due to shortness of breath and panic attacks caused by the crowd,” the guide told the Religion News Service.
Now the situation is incomparable: due to strict restrictions on tourist museums several times less. “Visitors can stop, enjoy the beauty of Raphael’s recently renovated rooms and the impressive ceilings of the Sistine Chapel. We are like to recover the right to private space, “said the woman.
