One would assume that Pope Francis receives a generous salary as compensation for his many duties as the head of the Catholic Church worldwide. The reality, however, is quite the opposite.
The Vatican’s spokesman, Joaqun Navarro-Valls, put an end to rumours about St. John Paul II’s salary in 2001 by stating, “The pope does not and has never received a salary.
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Catholic popes do not receive salary as they have vowed to live a Christ like life without pay hence;
Pledge of poverty
For Pope Francis, a member of the Society of Jesus, who made a vow of poverty when he first joined his religious community, this would be even more true.
The Vatican does, however, cover all of Pope Francis’ living and travel costs, even though he does not receive a monthly salary in the form of cash.
He never has to worry about finding a place to live or food, but he has no money to buy things from Amazon.
Fund for charitable purposes
However, he does have access to a sizeable charitable fund that he is free to use however he sees fit to help those in need.
For instance, Pope Francis reportedly donated $500,000 from the “Peter’s Pence” fund to help close to 75,000 people in Mexico.
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This is only one of the numerous donations he makes frequently in the wake of natural disasters or to regions that are especially in need as a result of war, drought, or other catastrophes.
As mentioned in Scripture, the pope is to follow the example of Jesus, who similarly did not receive a salary and relied on the kindness of others to meet his needs during his three-year ministry.
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