Vatican City, July 11: The Vatican is facing a major financial loss with a 4.1 million euro ($5.2 million) deficit recorded in 2009. It saw revenues of 250.2 million euros against expenses of 254.3 million euros.
The Vatican is facing losses for the third consecutive year. In 2008, it lost 900,000 euros and in 2007 saw a 9.1 million euro deficit, the BBC reported.
But annual donations from churches worldwide were up by about nine percent in 2009.
Most of the funds were spent on covering the activities of the Pope, and services such as Vatican Radio which is broadcast across five continents in 40 different languages.
The Vatican said it also faced losses for costly improvements to its telecommunication system and while restoring cultural treasures. It first began publishing annual financial reports in 1981 when Pope John Paul II set out to challenge perceptions that the Vatican was rich.