Back in the Vatican: What will Pope Francis’ life be like?

Santa Marta is a modern building, located to one side of St. Peter's Basilica. It was built in 1996 by Pope John Paul II to accommodate prelates visiting Rome, as well as cardinals during conclaves. In 2013, the Argentinian pope decided not to occupy the traditional papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace. Rather, he would stay at Santa Marta's to maintain close contact with his peers and avoid isolation in an overly formal environment.

His apartment is on the second floor of the residence, in the former “suite 201.” It consists of two rooms — a bedroom and a living room — and is permanently guarded by a soldier of the Swiss Guard, the Vatican's small army.

Pope Francis will continue his convalescence in this apartment for the next two months. The Pontiff will be assisted daily by Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal nurse who accompanies him everywhere. Strappetti was at Francis’ side when he appeared on the balcony of the Gemelli for the Angelus on Sunday.

“We have assessed his needs: He is an 88-year-old patient who needs oxygen and care that he can receive at home. He must continue his motor and respiratory physiotherapy, but he’s improving. We hope that he will soon be able to resume his normal activities,” said Dr. Luigi Carbone, the Pope's personal physician at the Vatican, at the press conference announcing his release on March 22. He said that in case of emergency, the pontiff would be taken care of by the Vatican medical team.

The doctors who looked after the Pope at Gemelli Hospital asked him not to exert himself too much and not to receive groups of people in order to avoid any “new infections.” Over the next few weeks, the Pope will continue to receive oxygen, although the aim is to reduce its use gradually.

“This will not be a case of a pope being hospitalized at home,” emphasizes Corriere della Sera, which explains that no specific medical facilities have been set up in his apartment - unlike what was done for John Paul II at the Apostolic Palace. The Italian daily reveals that a new electrically operated bed has simply been installed “to make it easier for him to get in and out of bed” due to the Pope's mobility problems.

Also according to Corriere, Pope Francis will no longer go to the cafeteria at Santa Marta for his meals, which will now be served to him in his room. Visits are scheduled to resume, but masks are reportedly compulsory “for all those around him.” The Vatican Gendarmerie has reportedly doubled its surveillance presence in the residence from two to four people in order to avoid any “hazardous incursion.”

The Spanish Catholic newspaper Vida Nueva claims to have had access to an “internal memo” from the Santa Marta residence in which the other residents are asked not to access the part of the second floor occupied by the Pope, specifying that he is, for the moment, “in isolation.”

To continue governing the Church, Pope Francis will be able to rely on his personal secretaries and his closest collaborators. According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, will be the “daily liaison” between the pontiff and the rest of the Vatican.