This pope doesn’t need to be treated like a king.
The newly minted Catholic leader has rejected the opulent new digs traditionally reserved for pontiffs in the Apostolic Palace — content instead to live in modest digs where he brews his morning coffee himself in a cramped kitchenette.
Pope Francis, 76, has lived in St. Martha’s House, a residence for visiting cardinals, since before his elevation to pope — and he intends to stay there.
His apartment — number 201 on the second floor — is a modest 970 square feet. The bedroom is appointed with carved-wood cupboards, and the study has two chairs. The only things hanging from the walls are a crucifix and a painting of the Virgin Mary with Jesus.
Instead of living in the pope’s traditional residence, he’ll “commute” to the 3,200-square-foot pad where he’ll meet with top church officials and guests.
The spartan quarters shouldn’t come as a surprise for this pope, who has said he wants “a poor church, for the poor.”
“His way of life there is more like his previous life in Buenos Aires,” a Vatican official said. “He won’t move anywhere else. He feels happier, calmer there.”
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio — who took the name Francis when he was elevated to pope on March 13 — lived in a small apartment in the Argentine capital, opting against the archbishop’s official home.