After a renovation, Pope Leo XIV moves into the papal apartment eschewed by Pope Francis

Pope Leo XIV moved into the newly renovated papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace on Saturday, marking a significant shift from his predecessor’s approach by embracing the traditional papal residence that Pope Francis had declined to use during his 12-year pontificate.

The Vatican announced that Leo will be joined by his closest aides in the third-floor apartment that overlooks St. Peter’s Square. This relocation comes as his papacy approaches its one-year anniversary, signaling the beginning of a new chapter in his pontificate.

Since his election last May, Leo had continued living in his modest flat in the Vatican’s Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio, which houses the Holy See’s doctrine office. During the past ten months, extensive renovations were undertaken at the papal apartment, which required substantial updates to its electrical systems, plumbing, and other utilities after sitting unused throughout Francis’s papacy.

The renovation process was substantial, with cranes visible at the site in recent months as the move-in date approached. The apartment’s renovation represents not just a practical housing change but a symbolic return to papal tradition.

Pope Francis had famously rejected the Apostolic Palace apartment, opting instead for the Vatican’s Santa Marta residence. Francis explained his decision as wanting to be surrounded by other people, a choice that aligned with his simpler approach and well-documented aversion to papal pomp. However, this meant the entire second floor of the hotel was devoted to the pope, reducing accommodation capacity for visiting clergy.

Leo, who made history as the first American pope, has demonstrated a more traditional approach to the papacy than his predecessor. He has shown greater comfort with traditional papal garments and customs, including his decision to inhabit the historic papal residence. Conservative Catholic commentators have praised this move as showing proper respect for the office of the papacy.

Although the apartment had remained unused for over a decade, papal protocol required it to be formally sealed with a red ribbon and wax following Francis’s death on April 21, despite the fact he never lived there. Leo had taken formal possession of the residence shortly after his election, touring the reception rooms and the small private chapel reserved for papal use.

This residential change coincides with other signs that Leo’s pontificate is gaining momentum after what observers describe as a deliberately measured beginning. Earlier this week, he made his second major appointment to the Vatican bureaucracy, naming Spanish Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, a fellow Augustinian priest, to lead the Vatican’s charity office. This appointment comes at a time when several Vatican department heads are approaching or have passed retirement age.

The Vatican has not officially specified which aides will join Leo in the apartment, but the pope has assembled a core team of four close assistants. These include his principal gatekeepers: his secretary, Peruvian Monsignor Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga, and the vice regent of the papal household, Nigerian Augustinian priest Rev. Edward Daniang Daleng, who regularly accompany him in public.

Leo has also appointed Anton Kappler, a former Swiss Guard lieutenant, to serve alongside former Vatican gendarme Piergiorgio Zanetti as an administrative aide in his office, completing his immediate circle of advisors.

The move into the Apostolic Palace, combined with these administrative appointments, suggests Leo is establishing his own distinct style of leadership as he prepares to mark his first year as the head of the 1.3 billion-member Catholic Church.