Pope Leo XIV moves into the residence shunned by his predecessor Francis. His new apartment has undergone extensive renovations
Ten months after assuming his prerogatives, the sovereign pontiff Leo XIV moved on Saturday to the pontifical apartment in the center of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, the historic residence of the popes, abandoned by his predecessor, Francis, who preferred to live in a modest hotel-type residence, informs AFP, taken over by Agerpres.
“This afternoon, Pope Leo XIV will take possession of his apartments in the Apostolic Palace and will move, together with his closest collaborators, to the spaces previously occupied by his predecessors,” the Vatican said in a press release on Saturday.
After his election in May 2025, the current pope, born in the United States, continued to live in the Palazzo del Sant'Uffizio (Palace of the Holy Office), a stone's throw from the Vatican, where he had already lived since he was a cardinal of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis considered the apartment too sumptuous
In the eyes of observers, this move marks a form of “return to normal” after the pontificate of Pope Francis, who lived from his election in 2013 until his death in 2025 in the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican, considering the pontifical apartments too spacious and too sumptuous.
In recent months, renovation works have been carried out at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican – especially in terms of internet connection and security.
The approximately ten-room residence located there, where the popes have lived since 1870, includes in particular a chapel, a vestibule, a library, an office, a dining room, a bedroom and a room from which the pope says the “Angelus” prayer every Sunday from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square.
Throughout the pontificates, the papal residence underwent several successive renovations and improvements.
The Apostolic Palace houses, among others, the famous Sistine Chapel, the Apostolic Library, Raphael's Chambers. as well as the State Secretariat, the central link of the administration of the Holy See.
Leo XIV also decided to resume the tradition of using the summer residence of the popes in the commune of Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, a tradition also abandoned by his Argentine predecessor. There, the current sovereign pontiff spends most Tuesdays playing tennis and swimming outside of his work schedule.
