What does the Catholic Church do with its wealth and riches

What does the Catholic Church do with its wealth and riches

The Church certainly manages substantial sums of money. But it uses them to fund more social work around the world than any other institution.

"The Catholic Church is rich and does not need money." An opinion that one finds on the Internet, but frequently also in social conversations, even in professional circles, with this subject which inevitably comes up on the carpet: the "riches of the Church". Comments on the issue are often a matter of sheer ignorance. What is it really ? Take, for example, the case of the Vatican Bank, "the most powerful on the planet," we have heard more than once. However, this is not true: it is ICBC, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, followed by Wells Fargo, of the United States.

In truth, according to the list published by the Economipedia platform, the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), dubbed the Vatican Bank, is not even among the top 60 banks in the world, according to its market capitalization. It is in fact responsible for the administration and custody of property and funds donated to the Institute exclusively for charitable purposes. A list published by the Fides agency on October 24, 2021 gives a little idea of what the Catholic Church does with its "wealth" around the world:

Africa

On this continent, the Catholic Church manages:

19,098 nursery schools

41,124 primary schools

15,622 secondary schools

1,418 hospitals

5,307 dispensaries

201 leper colonies

659 retirement homes for the elderly, chronically ill, disabled

1,646 orphanages

2,149 kindergartens

1,433 marriage counseling clinics

249 education or rehabilitation centers

1,192 various institutes

America

On this continent, the Catholic Church manages:

16,394 nursery schools

21,716 primary schools

12,224 secondary schools

1,362 hospitals

4,043 dispensaries

41 leper houses

3,642 retirement homes for the elderly, chronically ill and disabled

2,133 orphanages

2 957 kindergartens

4,289 marriage counseling clinics

1,630 education or rehabilitation centers

13,092 various institutes

Asia

On this continent, the Catholic Church manages:

14,119 nursery schools

16,501 primary schools

11,636 secondary schools

1,180 hospitals

2,775 dispensaries

269 ​​leper colonies

2,674 retirement homes for the elderly, chronically ill and disabled

3,233 orphanages

2,973 kindergartens

864 marriage counseling clinics

490 education or rehabilitation centers.

2,764 various institutes

Europe

On this continent, the Catholic Church manages:

21,567 nursery schools

15,739 primary schools

9,341 secondary schools

1,014 hospitals

2,313 dispensaries

19 leper colonies

8,031 retirement homes for the elderly, chronically ill and disabled

2,247 orphanages

2,491 kindergartens

5,504 marriage counseling clinics

725 education or rehabilitation centers.

16,503 various institutes

Oceania

On this continent, the Catholic Church manages:

1,489 nursery schools

3,845 primary schools

729 secondary schools

271 hospitals

525 dispensaries

2 leprosaria

423 retirement homes for the elderly, chronically ill, disabled, disabled

115 orphanages

153 kindergartens

218 marriage counseling clinics

104 education or rehabilitation centers.

289 various institutes

• Daniel Esparza - 04/08/21 on Aleteia