RTÉ coverage of Pope Francis's funeral and election of Pope Leo cost €150k

Former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost celebrating his first Mass as Pope Leo XIV with cardinals in the Sistine Chapel at the conclusion of the Conclave on May 9. Picture: Simone Risoluti

RTÉ's coverage of the death of Pope Francis and the subsequent election of Pope Leo cost the broadcaster €150,000.

Figures released under Freedom of Information show that the broadcaster's extensive coverage of the death of the pontiff included €4,200 in venue hire and over €1,200 in subsistence costs for management grade staff from Radio 1, with the overall costs of travel, hotels, and subsistence coming in at around €150,000 in total.

RTÉ provided hours of coverage across its platforms upon the death of Pope Francis in April, including his funeral and the election of American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church and the successor to Francis as Pope Leo.

The station's output included a special broadcast of its flagship Prime Time programme with records showing that staff airfares and hotels for that show cost around €3,600. While the cost of flights was one of the larger outlays, some airfares came in at as little as €13.

The world's media and thousands of pilgrims descended on the Vatican City upon the death of Pope Francis, with mourners standing in line for hours to pay their final respects while his body lay in state in St Peter’s Basilica ahead of his funeral.

That was followed by coverage ahead of the papal conclave which lasted just over a day and a half and resulted in the election of the first American pope.

In response to the FOI request, RTÉ said: "In relation to hotels, it is not possible to extract a precise spend on this alone so we have included ‘staff subsistence’ which would cover this and other costs. 

"Similar to civil and public servants, RTÉ personnel were paid to a set ‘day rate’ which would cover the cost of accommodation as well as food etc.

"[T]he costs incurred were necessary to allow RTÉ fulfil its obligations to provide comprehensive coverage of two major global events across radio, television and online in both Irish and English.

"Those who travelled provided many hours of coverage for all radio and television news and current affairs programming as well as online content spanning the days between the death of Pope Francis to the election of Pope Leo."