VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — During a Saturday audience with the U.S.-based Papal Foundation, a massive nonprofit that helps to fund the Church’s needs in developing countries, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the organization to continue donating to the Catholic Church.

During brief remarks at the May 2 audience near the end of the Papal Foundation’s annual pilgrimage to Rome, Pope Leo thanked the organization for its generosity, especially for its support for humanitarian aid and scholarships across the globe. The pontiff also emphasized that he was glad to hear that the Papal Foundation, which announced the same day as the audience that it had approved a record $15 million in grant allocations for 2026, was open to increasing its financial support and finding new ways to support the Church.

“I am, therefore, deeply grateful for your ongoing commitment to assist the Successor of Peter in his mission to care for the needs of the universal Church,” Pope Leo said. “In this regard, I was pleased to learn that membership in the Foundation continues to grow each year and that you have expressed an openness to increase the support provided as well as find new ways of being of service.”

The pontiff highlighted several projects supported through the Papal Foundation’s generosity, and this supports the Church’s “ongoing evangelical mission.”

“By funding projects, humanitarian aid and scholarships for people from around the world, the Papal Foundation participates in the Church’s ongoing evangelical mission,” Leo said.  “Your generosity has allowed countless people to experience in a concrete fashion the goodness and kindness of God in their own communities.”

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“Many priests and consecrated men and women have likewise been able to receive an advanced education from the Pontifical Universities in Rome that would otherwise not have been possible, forming them to be future leaders in the Church,” the pope added. “You will probably never meet everyone who has benefited from your kindness, so in their name I express heartfelt appreciation.”

Before the audience with the Holy Father on Saturday, the Papal Foundation announced it has approved a whopping $15 million in grant allocations for 2026, the highest in the charity’s 38-year history. The grants will assist in grants in a wide range of initiatives, including the construction and renovation of Catholic schools, orphanages, monasteries, and medical clinics across several countries.

READ: Pope Leo abolishes donations commission established by Pope Francis in February

The Papal Foundation also announced that 25 new families had become Stewards of Saint Peter, a title given to donors who make at least a $1 million contribution to one of the nonprofit’s general grants, since Pope Leo’s election.