• Home »
  • Faith »
  • Vatican »
  • Pope Francis pledges almost $5 million to help pay World Youth Day debt
exclamation

Important notice: To continue serving our valued readers during the postal disruption, complete unrestricted access to the digital edition is available at no extra cost. This will ensure uninterrupted digital access to your copies. Click here to view the digital edition, or learn more.

Pope Francis has pledged a donation of almost $5 million to help pay part of the debt incurred by the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day.
Pope Francis has pledged a donation of almost $5 million to help pay part of the debt incurred by the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day. CNS photo/Paul Haring

Pope Francis pledges almost $5 million to help pay World Youth Day debt

By  Lise Alves, Catholic News Service
  • January 6, 2014

RIO DE JANEIRO - Pope Francis has pledged a donation of almost $5 million to help pay part of the debt incurred by the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day, said the Local Organizing Committee.

A statement from the committee said the pope recognized "the great effort made by the Local Organizing Committee to hold World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro and demonstrated his intention to financially help pay off part of the investments made" for the event.

An independent audit of the event, conducted by Ernst & Young, confirmed that on Aug. 31, World Youth Day had an accumulated debt of $38.4 million. After renegotiating with suppliers and selling a property, the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro was able to reduce the debt to a little over $18 million.

World Youth Day was Pope Francis' first international trip after being named pontiff. The event brought nearly 3 million pilgrims to Copacabana beach July 23-28.

An October-December public campaign to obtain donations to pay off the debt collected $336,600.

The Local Organizing Committee said World Youth Day was funded entirely by the church and donations. Federal, state and local governments' participation was limited to guaranteeing the security of pilgrims and public services during the event, it said.

More in this category: « Pope limits 'monsignor' honor for diocesan priests Baptism gives strength to forgive enemies, love poor, Pope says »

Please support The Catholic Register

Unlike many media companies, The Catholic Register has never charged readers for access to the news and information on our website. We want to keep our award-winning journalism as widely available as possible. But we need your help.

For more than 125 years, The Register has been a trusted source of faith-based journalism. By making even a small donation you help ensure our future as an important voice in the Catholic Church. If you support the mission of Catholic journalism, please donate today. Thank you.

DONATE