Pope Francis’ humility is once again making headlines as he continues to live in a modest apartment in the Domus Sanctae Marthae rather than the opulent papal apartment on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace.
The Vatican Insider is reporting that when Pope Francis visited the papal apartments used by his predecessors, he looked at the lavish digs and said, “Here there is room for 300 people!” He is said to have asked to live “with simplicity and with sharing” while portions of the Apostolic Palace are undergoing renovations and seems content to stay in the guest house where he can eat his meals in the common dining room and walk to his appointments at the Vatican.
He has also decided to replace the papal throne in Clementine Hall, which is used by Popes to receive delegates of other denominations, with a simple chair.According to John Thavis, he asked Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi if the Francis had decided where to live.
“Let’s wait and see,” he was told.
Thavis reports that the Vatican talked about the need for some renovation work before the pope moved into the Apostolic Palace, “but the apartment received an extensive makeover in 2005 after Pope Benedict’s election, and it’s hard to believe Pope Francis would want to spend more money on redecorating,” he writes.
He goes on to explain that Francis could opt to live in the empty papal apartment at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which is the pope’s cathedral as head of the Rome Diocese.
“Popes lived at the Lateran Palace for about 1,000 years before moving to the Vatican in the 15th century, and officially it remains the residence of the bishop of Rome,” Thavis writes. “Since Francis has referred to himself as ‘bishop of Rome’ far more often than he’s used the word ‘pope,’ some believe he may make the move.”
The pope’s humility is also surfacing in other ways. For instance, he has distributed more than 3,000 tickets to Holy Thursday Mass to the poor via diocesan Caritas chapters in Rome.
Pope Francis has also chosen to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass at the juvenile prison Casal del Marmo in Rome, at 5.30pm local time. This institute was also visited by his predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II during their pontificates.
The Catholic News Agency is also reporting that amidst all the normal commotion of beginning a new papacy just two weeks before Easter, Pope Francis somehow found the time to call his paper boy back in Argentina to cancel his daily paper delivery.
According to Daniel Del Regno of Buenos Aires, he received a phone call around 1:30 p.m. local time on March 18 from someone who identified himself as “Cardinal Jorge.” Del Regno thought it was a prank, then burst into tears when he realized it was really the former Cardinal Bergolgio.
“I was in shock, I broke down in tears and didn’t know what to say,” Del Regno told the Argentinean daily La Nacion. “He thanked me for delivering the paper all this time and sent best wishes to my family.”
Del Regno added: “I told him to take care and that I would miss him. I asked him if there would ever be the chance to see him here again. He said that for the time being that would be very difficult, but that he would always be with us.”
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