COVID-19 pandemic cost Church millions in forfeited donations, no bank dividend

The Maltese church lost almost €8 million in income last year after the pandemic forced the closure of churches and missed a dividend from its own bank APS.

Michael Pace Ross, administrative secretary, said the Archdiocese saw a decrease of €3 million in income from the previous year while the Archbishop’s Curia registered less than half the income of 2019, posting a net deficit of €4.4 million.

Travel restrictions reduced by 80% the income from visitors to the historical attractions like the Mdina Cathedral and the Mosta Basilica.

One exceptional inheritance towards Dar tal-Providence helped in making up for a chunk of the lost income.

The overall expenditure went down by €2.6 million, as most liturgical and social events were not held throughout the year.

Costs related to protective and cleaning equipment went up significantly and the church invested much more into humanitarian help in order to tackle "compassion fatigue" amongst its employees.

Charitable donations also went up due to more calls for assistance by families in need.

The church benefitted from €2.5 million more in government assistance, especially in the form of wage supplements when compared to 2019.

The overall operating surplus was half of that in 2019 and the net result was of €1.2 million - €2.3 million less.

Pace Ross noted that despite the difficulties, no employees lost their job and the number of full time employees increased slightly.

The Archbishop’s Curia on the other hand registered less than half the income of 2019, and a net deficit of €4.4 million when compared to the €31,000 of last year.

When asked about the projections for 2021, Ross Pace sounded hopeful that the year will fare slightly better mainly considering that the APS dividend has been approved.

Banks were advised by the European Central Bank to exercise caution last year when considering dividend payments in the context of uncertainty created by the pandemic.