After thirteen years, the lights of the papal apartments have finally been switched on again…
This could only mean one thing: Pope Leo XIV has settled into his newly renovated apartment on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace since March 14. News of the move was announced by the Vatican that same day:
Pope Leo XIV will take possession of the apartment in the Apostolic Palace, as he moves, with some of his closest collaborators, into the rooms used by his predecessors.
His two secretaries will also live in the apartment: the Peruvian Edgar Rimaycuna, his right-hand man whom he has known since his time in Chiclayo, and the Italian priest Marco Billeri, who, like Pope Leo, is a canon lawyer.
Until now, the Pope had been living in the same residence he used as a cardinal, in the Palace of the Holy Office, where the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is located.
Since his previous residence was just a few steps from the Augustinian headquarters, the pope—then Cardinal Prevost—would usually go there to celebrate Mass with his community, to eat with them, and, of course, to play tennis.
There is a reason why Pope Leo XIV took so long to move: the apartment had to be renovated and refurbished, since it had not been used for 13 years—ever since Pope Francis decided to move from there to Casa Santa Marta.
The last renovation took place when Benedict XVI became pope in 2005. Before Pope Leo's move, it took ten months of work to renovate the apartment, which was continuously surrounded by cranes and other signs of construction.
For the time being, there are very few details about how Pope Leo XIV chose to renovate his new home. In any case, it can be a very personal decision whose purpose is, above all, to offer the pope a place of rest and comfort amid a busy papal schedule.
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