Image via Kiev.Victor / Shutterstock.
In this episode of The Patrick Madrid Show, Patrick takes on a question many Catholics face: Why does the Catholic Church have so much wealth when there are so many poor in the world?
Patrick explains that most of the Church’s great buildings and treasures – like St. Peter’s Basilica or the Vatican Museums – were built and donated centuries ago as offerings to God, not recent purchases. They aren’t simply possessions the Church can liquidate, but priceless cultural and spiritual inheritances meant for the whole world to see and be inspired by. He also mentions that if these treasures were sold, they’d likely end up locked in private collections, inaccessible to ordinary people.
Far from hoarding wealth, the Catholic Church is the single largest charitable organization on earth, running countless hospitals, orphanages, schools, and missions that serve everyone – not just Catholics. Patrick points out that while critics call for the Church to sell off its art, very few are willing to sell their own homes or cars to help the poor. Meanwhile, priests, nuns, and lay missionaries quietly live among the destitute, often without modern comforts, to bring Christ’s love to the suffering.
Patrick reminds you that beauty in worship matters, too – just as Abel’s costly offering in Genesis was pleasing to God, so too are the sacrifices Catholics make to build beautiful churches that lift hearts and minds to heaven. The Church’s wealth, then, is not a contradiction to its mission of charity, but part of its witness to the glory of God and the dignity of humanity.
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