papal apartments

The apartments include about ten rooms consisting of a vestibule, a small studio office for the papal secretary, the pope's private study, the pope's bedroom in the corner of the building, a medical suite (which includes dental equipment and equipment for emergency surgery), a dining room, a small living room, and a kitchen. There is a roof garden and staff quarters for the housekeepers. It is from the window of his small study that the pope greets and blesses pilgrims to Saint Peter's Square on Sundays. The private library has been described as a "vast room with two windows overlooking Saint Peter's Square." The pope's private chapel occupies the top storey on the east side of the Cortile di Sisto V.

The pope usually lives at the papal apartments except for the months of July to September, when the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo is the official summer residence. Three of the last six popes, John XXIII, John Paul I, and John Paul II, died in the papal apartments; the fourth, Paul VI, died at Castel Gandolfo; the fifth, Benedict XVI, died at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, his home since after his resignation in 2013; and the sixth, Francis, died at Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he lived throughout his pontificate.{{cite news |last1=Giuffrida |first1=Angela |last2=Sherwood |first2=Harriet |title=Pope Francis died from a stroke followed by heart failure, Vatican says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/21/pope-francis-died-from-a-stroke-followed-by-heart-failure-vatican-says |access-date=21 April 2025 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=21 Apr 2025 |quote=The 88-year-old pope, revered by millions of Catholics around the world, died at 7.35am in his apartment at Casa Santa Marta on Monday. His cause of death was confirmed through an ECG test, the Vatican said.}}{{cite web |url=http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-francis-live-vatican-guesthouse-not-papal-apartments|title=Pope Francis to live in Vatican guesthouse, not papal apartments |first=Cindy |last=Wooden |date=26 March 2013 |access-date=26 March 2013 |work=National Catholic Reporter}}

The last Pope to take residence at the Papal Apartments was Pope Benedict XVI from 2005 to 2013, when he moved to Mater Ecclesiae Monastery after his resignation.

The papal apartments are customarily renovated according to each new pope's preferences.

Prior to the renovation in 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the papal apartments had reportedly been in disrepair, with "outmoded furnishings and lack of lighting" and large drums placed in the false ceiling to catch water leaks. The 2005 renovation, carried out over three months while Benedict was in summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, included the building of a new library to accommodate Benedict's 20,000 books (placed in exactly the same order as in his previous residence), upgrading the electrical wiring (125-volt electrical outlets, phased out in Italy years prior, were replaced with 220-volt outlets) and plumbing (new pipes were installed to replace those "encrusted with rust and lime"). The heating system was repaired and the kitchen was refurbished, reportedly with new ovens, ranges, and other appliances donated by a German company. The floors, which are 16th-century marble slabs and inlay, were restored. The medical studio ("hastily installed in the papal lodgings for the ailing John Paul II") was renovated and expanded to include dental facilities, and the papal bedroom was completely redone. Wallpaper and other furnishings were put in throughout. The project was carried out by over 200 architects, engineers, and workers. Benedict also moved personal possessions to the papal apartments, including an upright piano.

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Category:Apostolic Palace

Category:Apartment buildings

Category:Official residences in Vatican City