At the end of June we will have the annual second
collection, known as Peter’s Pence. This collection is
taken up to assist the Holy Father in his many works of
Charity to the impoverished and down-trodden. Through
this collection we have the opportunity to assist the Pope in
a very real and effective way.
The origins of Peter’s Pence go back over a thousand
years to the time of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, who
levied an annual tax of one penny per household for the
support of the Pope. Hence, the name “Peter’s Pence.”
This tradition continued in England after the unification of
the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, up until the time of King Henry
VIII’s break with Rome, in the 1500’s. Elsewhere in Europe
the tradition died out not long after, in large part because of
the so-called Reformation. The Pope then depended upon
his income as ruler of the Papal States, which
encompassed much of middle Italy.
In 1870, with the unification of Italy, the Papal States
were annexed to the newly formed Kingdom of Italy, and
the Holy Father retreated to the Vatican where he
considered himself something of a prisoner. With the loss
of the Papal States came the loss of the Papal income, and
the collection of Peter’s Pence was revived first in France,
Ireland and the Catholic parts of Germany. Gradually the
collection was extended throughout the universal Church,
and was the main source of income, not just for the Pope
personally, but for the running of the whole Papacy. This
situation lasted from 1870 until 1928 when Italy and the
Vatican concluded the treaty, which not only established
the Vatican as an independent sovereign city state, but
also provided for Italy to pay an indemnity to the Vatican for
the loss of the Papal States. Even with that, Peter’s Pence
still provided the main part of the Papal income.
Today, however, because of the wise stewardship of
Papal holdings, Peter’s Pence is no longer used as Papal
income, but rather for the many, and far-reaching Papal
charities. The Pope’s charities extend throughout the
world, but are especially felt in the poorest parts of Africa,
and the Third World. Just as we are obliged to support our
own Bishop in the Bishops Lenten Appeal, so too are we
obligated to support the Pope’s charitable works, through
the Peter’s Pence collection. Thus, I ask each and every
one of us to consider, from the heart, how much we can
give to help Pope Benedict XVI on June 28