Leo XIV to move into the attic rather than the papal apartment?

While renovation work has been observed in recent weeks in and around the apartment, the Italian daily suggests that the Pontiff has chosen to move to the upper floor, under the eaves — a space that has been used as assistants' quarters for a century.

When questioned by I.MEDIA, the Holy See Press Office didn’t deny this information, but indicated that the Pope's office is indeed located in the historic apartment of his predecessors.

Since his election, Leo XIV has so far kept his former residence in the Palace of the Holy Office. Officially, the report was that the 267th pontiff was to move into the apartment in the Apostolic Palace – unused during the pontificate of Francis, who preferred the Casa Santa Marta – after extensive renovations. This accommodation has been renovated in recent months due to water leaks, the age of the electrical wiring, and the installation of security measures.

According to La Repubblica, the former missionary to Peru nevertheless made an “original” choice: to settle not in the 10-room papal suite, but in “an autonomous floor, barely visible from the outside, except for small windows that emerge above the cornices.”

This “attic” was previously converted in 1939 into a series of small apartments for the secretaries and nuns in charge of serving the popes. Now, according to the newspaper, Leo XIV has a small chapel, a kitchen, and a “fairly large” gym. The article provides numerous details about the rooms: sober, predominantly white in color and furnished with only the essentials, “standard in design.”

The head of the Catholic Church will likely also enjoy a small cloister, and a terrace where, during the time of John Paul II, a reproduction of the grotto of Lourdes and a swimming pool had been installed.

Contacted by I.MEDIA, the Holy See Press Office responded on Friday afternoon that the Pope “intends to use the spaces that were available to his predecessors as living quarters for himself and his closest collaborators.” Without denying the newspaper's report, the statement seems to suggest that the Pontiff could occupy both floors.

However, the Vatican states that the office used by the Pope, “where work has been completed” and where Leo XIV “has already resumed his activities during the day,” is that of the traditional papal apartment on the third floor. It is from its window, overlooking St. Peter's Square, that the Bishop of Rome recites the Angelus every Sunday with the faithful.

If the information in La Repubblica proves to be accurate, however, the Pope's bedroom would no longer be located at the corner of the Apostolic Palace, and his window would no longer overlook St. Peter's Square. The glow from the window in the evening — a particularly powerful symbol during the pontificate of John Paul II and his final illness — would no longer be visible to the Romans who were fond of it.

Various rumors have previously circulated about the future residence of Pope Leo XIV. The Italian press reported that he would surround himself with a small community of Augustinians. However, the Pope himself refuted this, confidently stating that he would simply live with his two private secretaries, priests Edgard Iván Rimaycuna and Marco Billeri. On Thursday, El Confidencial reported that “external” nuns would come to take care of the housework, without residing on site.

Amid all these hypotheses, the construction work is nearing completion and the move could take place soon, I.MEDIA has ascertained. Furniture has recently been brought to the Apostolic Palace. Some Vatican sources speak of “a few weeks” or even “a few days” before the Pontiff takes possession of the premises.

What exactly that will look like might remain a mystery.