What a great idea! Instead of living alone, he will be in a community of sorts, eating, praying and interacting with the other clerics who live there.
Most of the people who live at Santa Marthae are not clergy. They’re the Vatican staff: gardeners, cooks, secretaries and some priests in lower ranking positions.
As pope he may do as he pleases. My only concern is for the people who would usually care for a pope–what happens to them?
This is a charitable concern that has a very simple answer. First of all, the popes don’t have large staffs as the laity imagine. They have three or four house staff and two secretaries. That’s it.
Second, when a pope dies, in this case, abdicates, all of those posts automatically become vacant. The new pope can hire whomever he wishes. Popes always do so. There is always a turnover of staff. Bl. John Paul replaced the Italian cooks with Polish nuns who cooked and cleaned house. Pope Benedict replaced them with lay women from Communion and Liberation. Finding a post for three women is not a daunting task in a place as large as Vatican City. The secretaries are members of the clergy.
The papal apartments and all the art and beautiful surroundings of the Vatican are not any one person’s personal possessions, after all. They are held in trust as treasures for the human race.
Yes and no. The pope may use whatever is available in the Vatican warehouse to furnish his apartment or he can have it redecorated and furnished with new things as he wishes. Pope Benedict has his entire office moved to the papal apartment. Everything that was in the pope’s office was put in storage. Everything in that office is his property and left with him when he left. He also had the apartments redecorated in his favorite colors and fabrics. The furniture and art came from the Vatican warehouse.
Pope John Paul’s bedroom was his personal property. There was nothing in there that belonged to the Vatican. The rest of the apartment was a blend of his things and things from the Vatican warehouse. Pope Pius X had the apartment redone and everything was purchased new for him. He hired an interior decorator to do it. There was nothing in it that belonged to the Vatican. Though everything now belongs to the Vatican, because I believe he had no heirs as was the case with Bl. John Paul.
Interesting. I can see why he would be uncomfortable with the larger apartments because of his usual lifestyle. I have a feeling though that he may find it inconvenient to be moving back and forth after a short while. We will see. It’s not like anyone else will be living in the Papal apartments!
There are numerous staff members that need to be in contact with the Pope throughout the day and evening.
Only one person is allowed contact with the pope, that is Archbishop Gior Ganswein. No other employee ever comes in contact with the pope during the day or the evening. The Archbishop is the filter through which everything goes, even the menu that the pope eats. There is usually a butler, but he does not interact with the pope other than to get around him to do chores.
Also, the pope will go to work at the papal office every day. The office is not moving to the guest house.
Nor do I think the Pope will start having defined “office hours” and only be available during those delineated times.
Popes always have defined office hours. Pope Benedict was only available four hours a day. The rest of his day was for study and writing. It was Msgr Ganswein’s job to program according to that schedule.
Pope John Paul was available 6 hours a day and that was it. The rest of the time he wrote and studied.
Pope Benedict’s “work day” was from 6am to late in the evening and that can be exhausting after a time.
That was only when traveling. While at home, he worked from 9 to 1 with the public. He took a three hour break until 4. Then he worked from 4 to 7 alone. That was the end of his day. In the evening he watched movies, saw the news, played the piano, prayed or simply read.
The Pope’s office, if I am not mistaken, is in the Papal apartments.
His office and library will remain in the same place and he will go back and forth every day.
So, they may repurpose the rest of the papal apartments or they might move the office somewhere else or he might have two offices - one near the Vatican business center and one at or near Casa Santa Marta. I am sure someone will find the decision media-worthy.
Casa Santa Marta is closer to his office than he was in Buenos Aires. In Buenos Aires he had to take the bus and then hop onto the metro. At Casa Santa Marta he can walk to the papal palace, if it’s a nice day. If you’re on St. Peter’s Square looking at the Basilica, Santa Marta is to the left and the papal palace is to the right. You can cut across the square or if you want security and privacy, you can cut across the papal gardens behind the Basilica. There is also a four lane road that goes from one building to the other, right behind the gardens. He can ride over. It takes longer to get into the car than it does to drive over.
For those who have been to Vatican City, Casa Santa Marta is about 400 yards behind the Paul VI Auditorium. There is a private and secure walkway between the two buildings. Guests at Casa Santa Marta use the Square to get around. The clergy and staff use the secured walkways, roads and tunnels to get around. The pope is not outside of Vatican City, nor exposed to danger. It’s just a very informal setting.
They went back there for each of their meals, which I assume the Pope would be doing too unless they keep the kitchen and dining parts of the papal apartments in operation for him. It’s not so much that they need to keep him safe during his trips back and forth but that security would need to move to where every he is. That means either moving back and forth or keeping two sets of security staff - one in the Vatican and one at CSM.
