Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead the Catholic Church, welcomed leaders of The Papal Foundation to the Apostolic Palace on Saturday and urged them to sustain the flow of U.S. donations that bankroll papal humanitarian initiatives from educational scholarships to orphanage construction across the developing world.
Meeting with the foundation at the close of its annual pilgrimage to Rome, Leo told the group’s stewards — each of whom has contributed at least $1 million to the fund — that their generosity had allowed “countless people to experience in a concrete fashion the goodness and kindness of God in their own communities,” according to remarks released by the Vatican.
The audience amounted to a public confirmation that the election of a Chicago-born, English-speaking pontiff has reversed a years-long decline in U.S. donations to the Holy See. During Pope Francis’ 12-year pontificate, contributions beyond the Papal Foundation’s base of support had weakened significantly: the global financial crisis and pandemic compounded existing displeasure among some U.S. Catholics over management scandals and Francis’ pointed critiques of free-market capitalism.
Leo, a former mathematics professor with a reputation for scrutinizing the Vatican’s balance sheets, has drawn renewed engagement from the American donor class. On Saturday, the foundation disclosed that its members had approved more than $15 million in grants for 2026, the largest annual sum in the group’s 38-year history. Twenty-five new families have joined the foundation in the year since Leo’s election, the strongest indication to date that the papacy’s return to American hands has been good news for church fundraising.
David Savage, the foundation’s executive director, said in a statement that “the growth we’re seeing is incredibly encouraging, as it reflects a shared commitment to serve, to give, and to bring the church’s mission to life in meaningful ways across the globe.”
The foundation, established in 1988 by the late Cardinal John Krol of Philadelphia, channels donations from wealthy U.S. Catholics directly into papal charitable projects. Among the 2026 grants are funds for a safe school for marginalized tribal children in India and professional technical training for vulnerable women in the Philippines. The foundation also finances scholarships that allow priests and nuns from poor countries to study for advanced degrees at Rome’s pontifical universities.
All U.S. cardinals currently hold membership in the foundation, which is governed by a board of trustees comprising Catholic laypeople and bishops. Combined foundation grants have exceeded $270 million over the past four decades.