⚈ The Vatican earns at least € 342,000 per day of sources disclosed such as its bank, its real estate and its donations.
⚈ Major income also comes from tourism, although the exact figures are not public.
⚈ Despite the reforms, the Vatican struggling with financial opacity and past scandals.
While the 2025 conclave gathers under the fresco ceilings of the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals do not only choose a new Pope; They inherit a financial mess from decades in preparation.
Pope Francis has spent his last years fighting to unravel the Vatican opaque finances, the fight against deficits, pension deficits and the deep resistance of the interior. Despite its reforms, the church remains a paradox: a microstate flooded with invaluable art and global donations, but which depends on museum tickets to pay the bills.
How does the Vatican earn money?
The Vatican finances are going through two distinct entities. The Vatican city is the pope's physical house and the emblematic monuments of the church. He reports money by tourism: museum admissions, guided tours and a constant flow of income from coins, stamps and memories.
The Holy See, on the other hand, is the global administrative and diplomatic engine of the church. It is funded mainly by Peter's Pence, a tradition of the 18th century in which Catholics contribute to the charitable efforts of the Pope. The Holy See also invests in real estate, stocks and obligations, adhering to the values of the Church and avoiding the industries that conflict with its teachings.
At the center of all this is the Vatican bank, officially called the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR). It manages billions of assets for the clergy, dioceses and religious institutions around the world.
For decades, the bank was mired in scandal, allegations of laundering secret accounts and collapsed screens. And despite Reforms under Pope FrancisIncluding a major forensic audit and the closure of thousands of suspicious accounts, its inheritance of secrecy persists.
How much money does the Vatican earn a day?
Although all Vatican's financial activities are not publicly disclosed, the latest available 2023 data gives an overview of its main sources of income.
Here is a ventilation of the main sources of income for 2023 which are publicly disclosed:
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Vatican Bank (IOR): IOR has reported a net profit from 30.6 million euros.
- Administration of the heritage of the apostolic (APSA): APSA, which manages real estate and investments of the Vatican, made a profit of 45.9 million euros.
- Peter's Pence: The annual collection of charitable works of the Pope brought 48.4 million euros.
In total, these three sources have generated 124.9 million euros in annual income (2023), which is on average € 342,000 per day. However, these figures do not take into account other major income flows such as museum admissions, tourism or cultural events, which probably generate substantial income but are not publicly reported. Consequently, real daily income is probably higher than this estimate.
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