The Vatican clarified that it did not make any decision regarding the construction of a controversial altar valued at 5 million euros where Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon in August of this year.

In declarations to ACI Prensa, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, explained that “the organization of the event is local” and, therefore, the cost decision would fall on the City Council of the Portuguese capital.

The altar where Pope Francis will celebrate the last Mass of World Youth Day, which will take place in Lisbon from August 1 to 6, has become the center of controversy due to its cost reaching 5 million euros.

The contract was published last week, and the high cost of the work, which should be completed in 150 days, has generated some resentment and criticism of the city’s mayor, Carlos Moedas.

The mayor himself, who has acknowledged the high cost of the project, explained that “the specifications of the stage were defined in meetings we held with World Youth Day, the Church, and the Holy See.”

According to Portuguese media, this “altar palace,” to be placed in the vicinity of the Tagus River, was ordered from the Lisbon City Council to the construction company “Mota-Engil” for a total amount of 4,240,000 euros, to which VAT must be added.

For his part, the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, assured that the altar where Pope Francis will celebrate the last Mass of World Youth Day would also be used for other events in the future.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.