Pope Francis is renting out the Sistine Chapel for a corporate event

Pope Francis is renting out the Sistine Chapel for a corporate event
(Image credit: Eric Vandeville-Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

Pope Francis has given permission to Porsche to hold an outside fundraiser at Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, the New York Post reports. The luxury German auto company is including a concert inside the chapel as part of an exclusive tour of Rome that costs more than 4,000 euros, or about $5,100, per person. The proceeds will benefit the needy.

The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel have been damaged over the years by dust, sweat, and human breath, and the Vatican said last week that it will be limiting the number of annual visitors to 6 million people to protect the Renaissance artwork.

The head of the Vatican Museums said events like Porsche's will not be the norm, because the Sistine Chapel "is not a commercial place."

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Teresa Mull