Mystery donor to cover Pope Francis's funeral costs
Pope Francis will be buried on Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of the faithful and 170 state delegations will attend his funeral. Who will cover the costs of the ceremony? It turns out that it won't be the Vatican but a mysterious benefactor.
What do you need to know?
- The funeral of Pope Francis is to be held on Saturday.
- The Pope left detailed instructions regarding the place and method of his burial.
- In his will, he also specified who will bear the costs of the funeral.
Mysterious anonymous "benefactor"
On the day of Pope Francis's death, the Vatican revealed his last will. In the will, drawn up on 29th June 2022, the Pope left precise instructions regarding his funeral. He also noted who will bear the costs.
"The expenses for the preparation of my burial will be covered by the sum of the benefactor that I have arranged, to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and of which I have provided appropriate instructions to Rolandas Makrickas (a Catholic cardinal) Extraordinary Commissioner of the Liberian Chapter," he wrote in his will.
The donation is already in the basilica's account
As reported by ara.cat, the Vatican press office confirmed that the donation from an anonymous donor has already been deposited into the account of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. However, his name, origin, or reasons for making this donation were not disclosed.
At present, as reported by ara.cat it has not been disclosed how much the funeral ceremonies for Pope Francis will cost. Everything suggests that it will be more modest than the funeral of John Paul II in 2005.
The Spanish service ara.cat states that according to official Vatican data, the funeral of John Paul II and the conclave that elected his successor, Benedict XVI, cost about 7 million euros. These costs included the expense of religious ceremonies, logistical issues, and extensive security measures implemented during those days.
