Does the pope receive a salary?

Answer 1

The Pope does not get paid. He is actually living on and is supported by the people in and out of the Vatican City State, and all his needs are catered by the people of the Papal Household. If he wishes to spend on for example, a new set of Tridentine vestments, with a not-so-big embroidery of his papal seal, he must ask and he will get it depending upon the availability and the reason why he wants it.

He only receives paychecks for and from:

a. gift by some clergy or any person who wishes it to be directed at his expense, but I think he divides it for this and that

b. for his family in his place, either if they want it or not.

c. if he wishes to ask one, and give it to somebody else he wants (like victims of calamities etc.)

but still it passes through the Papal Household.

Answer 2

The Pope earns no salary.

However, three bags containing gold, silver, and copper coins are placed in the coffin beside the body of a dead pope. Each bag contains one coin for each year in his papacy.

Answer 3

There is no need for the pope to have a salary as everything he needs is provided for him by the Church. Since he is pope for life, he has no need of a pension either.

Answer

The pope does not formally receive a salary, since his every want and need is catered for by the Vatican. Even so, there are informal restrictions on the pope's ability to spend from the Vatican treasury at will, so the collection of Peter's Pence* was revived in the nineteenth century to provide the pope a greater measure of independence. Under Pope John XXIII, the Peter's Pence reportedly reached $13 million to $14 million in some years, whereas during the pontificate of Paul VI, the annual amount sagged to $4 million and below. This gives the pope an income in addition to expenditure from the Vatican treasury.

Answer 4

It depends on the type of priest. If the priest is a vowed religious, the priest takes a vow of poverty and does not receive a salary. The community the priest is vowed to receives the salary of the priest. If the priest is a Diocesan Priest, which is to say is ordained for service in a diocese the priest does receive a salary, and does not take a vow of poverty.

As for the range of the salary in the US you are looking at 15-20K at the low end to 30-35K at the high end. For a more detailed discussion of this, see the questions pertaining to the salary of priests on this site.

Religious sisters and brothers like the religious priest take a vow of poverty and do not receive a salary.

Answer 5

Popes usually serve until death so would have no need for a pension. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has no need of a pension as he continues to live in the Vatican and all his needs are provided for.

Answer 6

Catholic Answer:
The Pope has no need for a salary as all his expenses are met by the Vatican. Peter's Pence is a free-will offering taken up on the Sunday closest to the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29 each year. The money collected is today used by the pope for strictly philanthropic purposes. It assures that the Holy Father has funds immediately available to respond to emergencies or disasters around the world without having to wait to clear Vatican Bank red tape. It is not an income nor a personal slush fund for the Holy Father to spend on a whim.
In 2008, donations totaled $75.8 million, $82,529,417 in 2009, $67,704,416.41 in 2010 and $69,711,722.76 in 2011. 28% of the total came from the United States followed by Italy, Germany and other countries.
Where does Peter's pence go? In poor dioceses where many are dependent on the Church for social and pastoral support; in regions where Catholics are persecuted for their faith; and in nations overloaded with refugees and victims of war and natural disasters, the works done by the Holy Father help the Church extend charity to those most in need.

Answer 7

The pope does not formally receive a salary, since his every want and need is catered for by the Vatican. Even so, there are informal restrictions on the pope's ability to spend from the Vatican treasury at will, so the collection of Peter's Pence was revived in the nineteenth century to provide the pope a greater measure of independence. Under Pope John XXIII, the Peter's Pence reportedly reached $13 million to $14 million in some years, whereas during the pontificate of Paul VI, the annual amount sagged to $4 million and below. This gives the pope an income in addition to expenditure from the Vatican treasury, should he need further funds. Pope Francis has relatively moderate tastes, but this is not always the case. Pope Paul VI's hobby was modern art, and Paul Hoffman (Anatomy of the Vatican) says that he spent a fortune on acquiring artworks during his papacy.

Answer 8

The pope does not formally receive a salary, since his every want and need is catered for by the Vatican. Even so, there are informal restrictions on the pope's ability to spend from the Vatican treasury at will, so the collection of Peter's Pence was revived in the nineteenth century to provide the pope a greater measure of independence. Under the beloved John XXIII, the Peter's Pence reportedly reached $13 million to $14 million in some years, whereas during the uninspiring pontificate of Paul VI, the annual amount sagged to $4 million and below.

Answer 9

The pope receives no salary, but can live in absolute luxury if that is his wish. Paul Hoffman (Anatomy of the Vatican) says "The tradition of annual collections for the pope in Catholic churches all over the world goes back to the early Middle Ages, and is believed to have started in England before the Norman Conquest. The stream of pennies and other small coins then already known as Peter's Pence, donated by millions of faithful throughout Europe and sent to Rome, became a mere trickle after the Protestant Reformation, and eventually dried out completely." Hoffman says the Peter's Pence support of the papacy was re-instituted in France later in the nineteenth century and is now revived worldwide. Under John XXIII, the Peter's Pence reportedly reached $13 million to $14 million in some years, but during the pontificate of Paul VI fell to less than $4 million per year.

Pope Paul VI preferred modern art to the priceless artworks held by the Vatican, so his agents were sent to the art markets of Europe and the United States looking for works to buy, and arranged for private donors to finance the purchase of several hundred pieces. It seems that the annual amount of Peter's Pence and other collections intended for his use, was of no great concern to the pope.

Answer 10

Another answer from our community:

The pope does not get paid.