This is the glorious view that will greet the former Benedict XVI every day
when he takes up residence in an ex-nunnery within the ancient walls of the
Vatican after stepping down from the papacy.
Workmen in white and yellow hard hats were busy renovating the Mater Ecclesiae
nunnery, which will be Benedict’s home after he makes history by resigning
from his eight-year papacy on the evening of Feb 28.
It was once the home of the Vatican’s head gardener and was then used as a
retreat for groups of nuns – the last of which vacated the property in
November.
A cement mixer was grinding away in the driveway that leads from wrought iron gates to the front door of the residence, as builders tipped rubble down plastic chutes from the third floor window.
Vatican gardeners removed weeds from a cactus rock garden and trimmed
luxuriant yucca plants fringing a lawn in front of the building, in
preparation for the arrival of its VIP occupant.
Adjoining the residence is a small chapel, and looming over the complex is a 15th century tower topped with radio antennae which enable Vatican Radio to broadcast to the world.
The Pope’s resignation and his decision to live within a stone’s throw of his successor will create a situation without precedent for the Catholic Church, throwing up questions of how much influence the ex-pontiff will wield.
From his new home, which sits on a slope and backs onto a stretch of wall built in the ninth century to defend Rome from Saracen pirate attacks, he will be able to peer down into the very heart of the city state.
His view encompasses statues of saints and martyrs as well as the roof of the Sistine Chapel – where 117 cardinals will gather next month to elect his successor in a secretive conclave.
The Vatican has not yet said exactly when the conclave will start and no one can predict how long it will last – in centuries past the behind-closed-door gatherings have lasted weeks and occasionally ended in fist fights between feuding cardinals.
But it is likely to last more than a day and the elector cardinals will sleep in an imposing palazzo in the shadow of St Peter’s Basilica.
The Domus Sanctae Marthae palazzo was commissioned in the 1990s by Pope John Paul II to provide an alternative to the cramped, sweaty quarters that cardinals had formerly used inside the Apostolic Palace.
“There was only one lavatory for every 10 cardinals in the Apostolic Palace, and no doors on the showers,” said Benedikt Steinschulte, from the Pontifical council for Social Communications, who led the tour inside the Vatican.
Each morning the cardinals, who must be no older than 80 in order to be eligible to vote, will be escorted from their sleeping quarters and led around the gleaming white walls of St Peter’s Basilica to the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave will take place according to rules laid down over centuries.
The able-bodied will walk, while older cardinals will be transported by mini-bus.
The road will be closed to all pedestrians and traffic to ensure that the electors remain in total seclusion from the outside world.
The roads will be blocked off again when the cardinals return in the evening, if they have not yet managed to agree, by a two-thirds majority, who should be the next Pope. The Sistine Chapel itself will be swept for bugs and other listening devices.
“They can’t talk to anybody, they can’t use their mobile phones – they are totally closed off,” said Mr Steinschulte, a German who has worked in the Vatican for nearly 30 years. “After all, the word conclave comes from ‘cum clavi’ – locked in with a key.”
Above the stone entrance to the palazzo are the words “Johannes Paulus II”.
It has 108 suites and 23 single rooms, all with private bathrooms – a distinct improvement on the shabby accommodation endured by cardinals during past conclaves.
A few steps away is the Vatican’s only petrol station – a tiny affair with three pumps – and an office of the Gendarmerie, the Holy See’s own police force.
Up the road is the Vatican’s rarely-used train station, a gleaming white travertine marble building that looks more like an art museum and dates from the 1920s.
The world’s smallest sovereign nation, the Vatican City State has a permanent population of around 500, including cardinals, bishops and the 150 members of the Swiss Guard, the Pope’s personal bodyguard.
After resigning, Benedict will spend around two months living at Castel Gandolfo, a summer papal residence in the hills east of Rome.
He will then move into the newly-spruced up nunnery, bringing with him his books, private papers, piano and beloved cats.
The Vatican also revealed that Benedict will send his last Tweet on February 28, his final day in office, and after that his Twitter handle, @pontifex, will fall silent.
The Pope has amassed more than 2.5 million followers since launching a Twitter feed in eight languages, including English and Latin, in December.
It will be up to the new pope, however, to decide whether he wishes to revive a papal account.
Adjoining the residence is a small chapel, and looming over the complex is a 15th century tower topped with radio antennae which enable Vatican Radio to broadcast to the world.
The Pope’s resignation and his decision to live within a stone’s throw of his successor will create a situation without precedent for the Catholic Church, throwing up questions of how much influence the ex-pontiff will wield.
From his new home, which sits on a slope and backs onto a stretch of wall built in the ninth century to defend Rome from Saracen pirate attacks, he will be able to peer down into the very heart of the city state.
His view encompasses statues of saints and martyrs as well as the roof of the Sistine Chapel – where 117 cardinals will gather next month to elect his successor in a secretive conclave.
The Vatican has not yet said exactly when the conclave will start and no one can predict how long it will last – in centuries past the behind-closed-door gatherings have lasted weeks and occasionally ended in fist fights between feuding cardinals.
But it is likely to last more than a day and the elector cardinals will sleep in an imposing palazzo in the shadow of St Peter’s Basilica.
The Domus Sanctae Marthae palazzo was commissioned in the 1990s by Pope John Paul II to provide an alternative to the cramped, sweaty quarters that cardinals had formerly used inside the Apostolic Palace.
“There was only one lavatory for every 10 cardinals in the Apostolic Palace, and no doors on the showers,” said Benedikt Steinschulte, from the Pontifical council for Social Communications, who led the tour inside the Vatican.
Each morning the cardinals, who must be no older than 80 in order to be eligible to vote, will be escorted from their sleeping quarters and led around the gleaming white walls of St Peter’s Basilica to the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave will take place according to rules laid down over centuries.
The able-bodied will walk, while older cardinals will be transported by mini-bus.
The road will be closed to all pedestrians and traffic to ensure that the electors remain in total seclusion from the outside world.
The roads will be blocked off again when the cardinals return in the evening, if they have not yet managed to agree, by a two-thirds majority, who should be the next Pope. The Sistine Chapel itself will be swept for bugs and other listening devices.
“They can’t talk to anybody, they can’t use their mobile phones – they are totally closed off,” said Mr Steinschulte, a German who has worked in the Vatican for nearly 30 years. “After all, the word conclave comes from ‘cum clavi’ – locked in with a key.”
Above the stone entrance to the palazzo are the words “Johannes Paulus II”.
It has 108 suites and 23 single rooms, all with private bathrooms – a distinct improvement on the shabby accommodation endured by cardinals during past conclaves.
A few steps away is the Vatican’s only petrol station – a tiny affair with three pumps – and an office of the Gendarmerie, the Holy See’s own police force.
Up the road is the Vatican’s rarely-used train station, a gleaming white travertine marble building that looks more like an art museum and dates from the 1920s.
The world’s smallest sovereign nation, the Vatican City State has a permanent population of around 500, including cardinals, bishops and the 150 members of the Swiss Guard, the Pope’s personal bodyguard.
After resigning, Benedict will spend around two months living at Castel Gandolfo, a summer papal residence in the hills east of Rome.
He will then move into the newly-spruced up nunnery, bringing with him his books, private papers, piano and beloved cats.
The Vatican also revealed that Benedict will send his last Tweet on February 28, his final day in office, and after that his Twitter handle, @pontifex, will fall silent.
The Pope has amassed more than 2.5 million followers since launching a Twitter feed in eight languages, including English and Latin, in December.
It will be up to the new pope, however, to decide whether he wishes to revive a papal account.