The third-floor papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace - unused throughout Pope Francis’s pontificate - is nearly ready to welcome Pope Leo XIV. The renovation, underway for nine months, is now approaching completion. The last Pope to live there was Benedict XVI, who vacated it on 28 February 2013 after his historic resignation. Francis instead chose to remain at Casa Santa Marta, the former convent renovated in the 1990s by John Paul II to house cardinals during the Sede Vacante.

According to Il Tempo, the refurbishment ordered by Leo XIV focused primarily on repairing roof leaks that, after twelve years without maintenance, had damaged and outdated the electrical systems. From the start, Prevost had no intention of living at Santa Marta; he immediately requested that the traditional papal apartment be restored and brought up to standard. However, progress slowed for several reasons.

Each morning, the Pope receives heads of state, ambassadors, and Curia officials in his private library, just steps from the apartment—forcing construction to pause during audiences. Additional delays arose from the creation of small adjoining rooms to house a community of Augustinians whom the Pope wishes to live close to him.

With the works nearly finished, Leo XIV is preparing for a move that marks a return to the historical custom of residing in the Apostolic Palace.