Pope Francis has revealed for the first time the reasons for his
decision to shun the official papal apartments and instead live in a much
more modest Vatican ‘hotel’.
He has told a friend that he likes being in daily contact with ordinary people, does
not want to be isolated and enjoys sitting down to meals with visiting clergy.
The Pope, 76, who on first seeing the papal apartments reportedly
exclaimed “But there is room here for 300 people!” hinted that the arrangement may
be permanent.
The Pope broke with Vatican tradition when he decided, after being
elected on March 13 during a secret conclave of cardinals, not to live in the
apostolic apartments.
Instead he opted to remain in the Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican
residence which accommodates visiting clergy and lay people, where he had
stayed with his fellow cardinals during the conclave.
He lives in a suite of rooms in the residence, which sits in the
shadow of St Peter’s Basilica, on the other side of the Vatican city state to
the apostolic apartments.
He explained his choice in a letter written two weeks ago to an
old friend, Father Enrique Martinez, a priest at the Church of the Annunciation
in La Rioja.
“I didn’t want to go and live in the apostolic palace. I go over
there just to work and for audiences.
“I’ve remained living in the Casa Santa Marta, which is a
residence which accommodates bishops, priests and lay people.” There he feels
“part of a family” he wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Clarin, an
Argentinian daily.
“I’m visible to people and I lead a normal life – a public Mass in
the morning, I eat in the refectory with everyone else, et cetera. All this is
good for me and prevents me from being isolated.
“I’m
trying to stay the same and to act as I did in Buenos Aires because if you
change at my age you just look ridiculous.” The Pope, the first Jesuit pontiff
in history and the first to come from the Americas, said his election was
“something totally surprising” which he considers “a gift from God”.
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