The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Cologne has published accounts showing the full extent of its wealth for the first time.
Documents posted on its website on Wednesday show Germany’s richest archdiocese had assets of €3.35 billion ($3.82 billion) at the end of 2013.
Some €2.4 billion were invested in stocks, funds and company holdings. A further €646 million were held in tangible assets, mostly property. Cash reserves and outstanding loans total about €287 million.
In 2013, the archdiocese received €573 million from church taxes paid by the two million Catholics living in the region around Cologne, famous for its Gothic cathedral.
The publication was prompted by criticism of Germany’s Catholic Church in the wake of a recent scandal over the former bishop of Limburg’s lavish spending.
