This is reported by the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, citing Vatican sources and statements from the Holy See’s spokesperson, Matteo Bruni.
As Bruni explained, the Pontiff has decided to use as housing the spaces traditionally destined for his predecessors, both for his personal residence and for the work of his closest collaborators.
Among them is the attic located above the Third Loggia, where the small apartments of the papal secretaries were previously located and which could now become the Pope’s direct residence.
Since his arrival at the Vatican in 2023, the Apostolic Palace will be Leo XIV’s third residence.
He currently lives in the Palace of the Holy Office, in the apartment he already occupied when he was elected Pope. It is a 250-square-meter dwelling located on the third floor of staircase C, right above the office of the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with views of both St. Peter’s dome and via di Porta Cavalleggeri.
Before settling there, the then Cardinal Prevost resided for nearly two years in an apartment located on via di Porta Angelica, outside the Vatican extraterritorial zone.
According to Il Giornale, that former Roman home of the Pope is now occupied by Antonio Avati, brother and producer of the well-known film director Pupi Avati.
The filmmaker recounted that they discovered the origin of the property by chance upon finding receipts in Prevost’s name and does not rule out bringing this story to the cinema, describing the experience as a “spiritual embrace” at a delicate moment for his family.
But the most relevant movement occurs in the Vatican real estate sphere.
According to the information published by Il Giornale, starting tomorrow a decree will come into effect that repeals the rescript of February 13, 2023, promoted by Pope Francis, through which free or reduced-price accommodations for cardinals, dicastery heads, presidents, and active secretaries had been eliminated.
With the new provision, these categories will once again be able to enjoy, under a free loan regime, dwellings belonging to the Holy See’s patrimony.
A decision that, according to various internal sources, seeks to mark a change in style and close a stage considered by many as excessively populist.