Pope will help Rio pay debt from World Youth Day

Jan. 08, 2014: Pope Francis will contribute $5 million to pay off debts from the celebration of World Youth Day in Brazil last year. The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, which hosted the international event, announced that the Pope would “contribute financial aid to pay part of the expenses” for the July celebration. The World Youth Day organization had run up a debt of nearly $20 million. The heavy debt for the Rio celebration was incurred in part because no government funds were appropriated for the event. With the Brazilian government facing a serious budgetary crisis, and public fears inflamed by the projected costs of major international events such as the World Cup soccer championship in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016, political leaders refused to offer any public support for World Youth Day.