By Matt Vuorela / Chief Executive Officer of Steier Group / Connect with Matt on LinkedIn
If you have ever announced a capital campaign, you may have heard some version of this question afterward: “Why doesn’t the archdiocese or the Vatican just pay for it?”
It’s a fair question. It’s common for parishioners to wonder why they have to raise funds for a new roof or school addition. Especially if your particular Catholic church doesn’t have stable finances.
The answer is complex. The Catholic Church as an institution has its finances spread across thousands of separate entities, from the Holy See to dioceses, to religious orders and more – down to your particular parish and the one down the street. This post explains what is known about Church wealth so you can answer parishioner questions with confidence.
What Is the Catholic Church Worth?
There is no public verified figure for the Catholic Church’s total net worth. Estimates vary widely depending on many factors. A 2023 Marketplace analysis pieced together news reports and Vatican financial statements and concluded the true total was likely higher than anything it could document.
The Church’s main assets fall into a few broad categories:
- Real estate: Churches, schools, rectories, land, etc. The Holy See’s asset office alone manages 4,234 properties in Italy and about 1,200 more in cities such as London, Paris and Geneva, according to its 2024 report.
- Art: Vatican museums hold tens of thousands of art pieces that hold major value, but are not meant to be sold.
- Investments: The Holy See, individual dioceses and other Catholic institutions have their own portfolios with varying assets.
- Institutions: In the United States alone, there are 5,829 Catholic schools serving more than 1.6 million students and more than 600 Catholic hospitals.
The value of these assets is different from money that’s available to spend. Consider that about 70% of the Holy See’s properties generate no income because they house Church offices, according to that same Vatican report. And the Holy See itself runs a structural deficit while facing a large pension shortfall.
Is the Catholic Church the Wealthiest Religious Organization?
While the Catholic Church is frequently called the world’s wealthiest religious organization, no credible ranking can confirm that. The Catholic Church is, however, the largest Christian body, with about 1.42 billion members worldwide (a 1.14% increase since 2023). Of course, size of membership does not necessarily measure wealth.
There are a few reasons we can’t know the exact wealth of the Church. For one, churches are not required to file the Form 990 that most other nonprofits in the United States submit. That makes the amount of available public data across faith traditions slim. Until better data, or at least more of it, exists, any claim about Catholics being the “richest” faith is just that – a claim.
The Vatican’s Role in Church Finances
The Vatican doesn’t hold just one big bank account for the global Church that we can look at, either. The Vatican specifically manages the finances of the Holy See.
The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) manages the Holy See’s property and investments. The Secretariat for the Economy, created in 2014, oversees budgets and financial controls. The Institute for the Works of Religion, often called the Vatican Bank, serves Church institutions and clergy and reported a 2024 net profit of €32.8 million (measured in euros). Peter’s Pence, the annual collection supporting the Pope’s mission, is also managed by the Vatican.
Each diocese, parish and religious order manages their own. For example, the Archdiocese of Omaha, where our Steier Group office is headquartered, is its own legal and financial entity, led by the archbishop and advised by an archdiocesan finance council, as required by canon law. Canon law also requires that every parish has a finance council to help the pastor administer parish goods. Religious orders manage their assets independently.
Canon law is the Catholic Church’s own system of law, set out in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which governs how the Church is organized and how its property is managed.
Why Catholic Church Finances Are Hard to Measure
It’s because of these separate records by entity and different rules by country regarding financial reporting that Church finances are hard to pin down. This decentralization definitely makes it hard to calculate a single total. Plus, it would be hard to put an exact price on centuries-old art and sacred space real estate!
Strengthening Financial Oversight in the Church
In recent years, the Catholic Church has taken concrete steps toward accountability and oversight regarding its finances.
Unfortunately, there have been cases of fund mishandling. Public attention has helped bring reforms, which have focused on audits, clearer budgeting and tighter investment controls. Pope Francis created the Secretariat for the Economy in 2014 and, in a December 2020 law, moved the Secretariat of State’s investments and property under APSA’s management. The Vatican Bank, APSA and Peter’s Pence now publish annual reports for transparency as well.
And as we said earlier, canon law expects dioceses and parishes to maintain finance councils, and administrators of Church goods must submit annual reports to their bishop. Under the U.S. bishops’ resolution, diocesan finance council members sign a statement each year confirming they reviewed the diocese’s audited financial statements.
Steier Tip: Transparency builds trust before a campaign begins. Sharing an annual finance council report with parishioners shows them their gifts are handled with care.
Why Church Wealth Is Debated
Thinking back to our opening question about why parishioners may feel slighted when asked to pay for church upgrades – the questions are rarely about just numbers. To wonder about Church wealth is to also bring into conversation what the Church is for.
Critics of the Catholic Church, its organization and financial structure question whether large holdings fit the Church’s mission to serve the poor. Defenders note that most Church assets are working assets: classrooms, clinics and sanctuaries.
Church teaching on stewardship shapes both views. In their 1992 pastoral letter, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, the U.S. bishops describe a Christian steward as someone who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cares for them responsibly and shares them generously. We talk about this model of stewardship often on our blog and in our client meetings.
Those gifts include our time, talents, spiritual gifts, relationships and financial resources. That teaching challenges the Church as an institution to use its resources well, and it invites every one of us as Catholics to see financial generosity as part of discipleship rather than something separate from it.
Why Parishes Still Run Capital Campaigns
Regardless, the overall wealth of the Catholic Church has little to do with our local parish projects. A diocese may help in some cases, but it is rarely able to pay for a parish’s major building needs.
As a result, parishes rely largely on their own parishioners for major projects. A well-planned capital campaign gives the whole parish community a way to answer that call together.
Limits of Parish Operating Budgets
Indeed, a separate campaign is typically needed to fund larger projects. Aging buildings could have roof problems, outdated HVAC systems, crumbling parking lots, cramped worship space and more. These things aren’t easily funded by a parish’s weekly offertory. Nor are they intended to be. A parish’s weekly offertory is built to keep the parish operations running day-to-day, not to build its future. In fact, for most Catholic churches we work with, regular weekly and monthly giving covers staff salaries, utilities, insurance and other costs associated with ministry. These expenses limit what remains to dedicate to any larger needs.
Projects Parish Campaigns Typically Fund
Capital campaigns give Catholic organizations the resources they need to address large scale needs that operating budgets can’t. Common campaign projects include: new parish center, adoration chapel, school addition, church renovations, technology and infrastructure upgrades or debt reduction.
Before launching, we at the Steier Group recommend a feasibility study to gauge parishioner support and set a realistic goal. Pairing that research with proven Catholic fundraising strategies helps your parish move forward with confidence.
Conclusion: What Church Wealth Means for Parish Fundraising
No one knows exactly how much money the Catholic Church has. Its wealth is spread across thousands of independent entities and not pooled to fund local parish projects.
That’s why capital campaigns remain a practical (and faithful) way for Catholic parishes and schools to build the future. Catholic leaders can help parishioners understand where Church resources really come from. Then a campaign becomes about sharing in the work God has entrusted to your community. A capital campaign grounded in prayer and a solid understanding of your local finances can help your parish build something that serves generations to come.
Sources
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