Vatican to Help Rio Archdiocese Pay Debts from World Youth Day

11/29/2013 - 08h44

The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro is to receive financial help from the Vatican to pay debts accumulated during World Youth Day in July.

In a statement released yesterday, the organizers of the event said that Pope Francis "proposed contributing financial help in order to cover part of the final investments in World Youth Day 2013."

The exact figure that the Vatican will pay has yet to be determined. Likewise, no decision has been taken as to how the money will be transferred to Brazil.

World Youth Day, which took place between the 23rd and the 28th of July in Rio, left the Archdiocese with debts of US$39 million.

In August, it sold a building in São Cristóvão, in the north of the city, for US$20 million. The building is the home of the Quinta D'Or hospital. The Archdiocese's debts now stand at US$ 18.6 million.

In the statement the organizers reiterated that public money was not used to pay for the event: "The participation of the city government was limited to ensuring that essential public services continued to work as normal during the event. The government did not assume the financial burden."

The statement also emphasized that Pope Francis recognized "the great work" of the organizing committee.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

Read the article in the original language

	Luca Zennaro/Efe
	Pope Francis proposed contributing financial help in order to cover part of the final investments in World Youth Day 2013