While the sum of all Catholic institutions involved in making this faith-based divestment remains undisclosed, the volume of divesting groups is four times higher than a previous church record.
The divestment will occur on the anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi, and the Italian town of Assisi will also shed all oil, coal and gas holdings to mark the feast day.
The former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres hailed the decision as “a further sign we are on the way to achieving our collective mission”.
The “joint divestment from fossil fuels is based on both their shared value of environmental protection and the financial wisdom of preparing for a carbon-neutral economy,” the Global Catholic Climate Movement told Reuters.
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