When it comes to prestigious addresses, few rival the Apostolic Palace – a 16th-century residence overlooking Vatican City.
But in a twist that sounds more Bondi than Vatican, Pope Leo XIV will move into the lavish papal apartment with a handful of flatmates, breaking with centuries of tradition.
According to Italian media reports, His Holiness, will move into the renovated rooms later this year and will be sharing the 10-room apartment with three or four others.
This marks a departure from his predecessor, Pope Francis, who famously declined the opulent accommodation in favour of a simpler life in the Santa Marta residence.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the Pope’s Peruvian personal secretary, Father Edgard Rimaycuna, is expected to be among those invited to share the apartment.
RELATED: Surprise fortune Pope Francis left behind revealed
Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives ahead of his Inauguration Mass in St Peter’s Square. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
The facade of the Apostolic Palace.
The gardens of the Apostolic palace.
Vatican correspondent Iacopo Scaramuzzi noted the unprecedented nature of this arrangement in modern times, telling the Telegraph: “It seems to be new to me. I don’t know if that takes account of the long history of the Church but certainly in the modern era.”
He also highlighted that it’s like having “flatmates” like many humble residents of the world.
While Pope Francis chose to live in the Santa Marta residence to maintain daily contact with ordinary people, Pope Leo’s decision reflects his Augustinian values of community living, having spent 12 years living in community when he was prior-general of the order.
“In my opinion, Leo is definitely different to Francis but not that different. He is returning to the papal apartments, but not like a king,” Mr Scaramuzzi added.
The Apostolic Palace apartment has served as the official residence of popes since 1870, with each new pontiff typically undertaking renovations.
Leo in the corridor of the Third Loggia of the Apostolic Palace. Francesco Sforza/Vatican Media/Vatican Pool/Getty Images
The papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace in 2007. Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori via Getty Images
Pope Leo in the Apostolic Palace. Vatican Media/Francesco Sforza/Handout via Reuters
Following Pope Francis’s death on April 21, this year, the doors of the apartment were sealed in keeping with Vatican tradition, even though the late pope never lived there.
The Vatican has remained tight-lipped about the current renovations, during which teams of technicians have spent months working on a redesign of the rooms and have had to deal with damage caused by water infiltration and humidity in the 12 years that the apartment remained empty.
Pope Leo has also revived the tradition of papal summer holidays at Castel Gandolfo, another custom forgone by Pope Francis.
Visitors have been given a rare look at the bed where Popes Pius XII and Paul VI died and where John Paul II recovered from an assassination attempt in 1981
Francis leading the Angelus prayer at the library of the Apostolic Palace in 2021. Vatican Media/Handout via Reuters
An apartment room in the Apostolic Palace in 2007. Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori via Getty Images
While the renovations are completed, Pope Leo is living in the Sagrestia building next to St Peter’s Basilica.
The Apostolic Palace is believed to be one of more than 5,000 church and investment properties owned by The Vatican around the world.
English (US) · 