Around €1.2 million was distributed by the Archdiocese of Malta among vulnerable groups last year in spite of Church finances registering a €787,000 shortfall.
Mr Michael Pace Ross, Administrative Secretary of the Archdiocese of Malta, said: “Various initiatives are underway aimed at furthering the Church’s mission — with a special focus on helping families and individuals in need — including work with children and adolescents, survivors of domestic violence and other forms of abuse, migrants, as well as those afflicted by poverty, substance abuse and other problems.
“Archbishop Charles Scicluna, on behalf of the Church, has over the past few years gifted two large properties — the Cini Institute in St Venera and Dar Saura in Rabat — to Hospice Malta and the Malta Trust Foundation. These are notable contributions to Maltese society, while the Archdiocese has also launched the Duwa project, which provides trauma-informed psycho-spiritual support.”
A number of public social partnership (PSP) agreements were also renewed with Caritas, and Fondazzjoni Sebħ — which provides a safe and caring environment for children from challenging family environments — while teachers in Church schools are benefitting from higher remuneration packages, funded by the Government, thanks to a new collective agreement.
Mr Pace Ross said that while the Archdiocese of Malta registered a higher income of €3.8m due to a rise in collections, donations, sponsorships and inheritances — and increases in paying visitors to the Mdina Cathedral Museum and Mosta Basilica of 27% and 47% respectively — this was offset by a €5.5m rise in expenditure.
Salary costs for the Archdiocese — which encompasses around 120 entities and employs 1,398 staff — accounted for 64% of the total, while the Church’s tax charge for the year amounted to €3.1 million.
“Inflation continued to decrease in 2024, resulting in a series of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank; however, the Archdiocese still recorded a return on investment of 6.06% — even though the dividend received from APS Bank was slightly lower compared with 2023 — and we are optimistic we are on the road to financial recovery and sustainability following the blows suffered as a result of the pandemic and world conflicts in the early years of this decade,” Mr Pace Ross said.
During the course of 2024, both the administration of the Balluta parish, run by the Carmelite Order, and the Apap Institute in St Venera — which ceased operations as a home for the elderly after the Dominican nuns felt they were no longer able to run it — were handed over to the Archdiocese due to declining vocations.
Meanwhile, the Foundation for Theological Studies received a €155,000 subsidy from the Archbishop’s Curia to assist individuals pursuing studies in theology both locally and abroad.
On behalf of the Bishops of Malta, Mr Pace Ross thanked staff, volunteers and the public for their support. He also appealed for donations at church.mt/donate.