Pope Francis resides in suite 201 of Casa Santa Marta, a modern guesthouse in Vatican City, offering more spacious and elegant accommodations than his previous residence. The guesthouse, built in 1996, houses numerous suites and rooms for priests, bishops, and cardinals visiting the Vatican.
Casa Santa Marta was built to improve the living conditions for cardinals during papal elections. Previously, cardinals slept in small rooms near the Sistine Chapel. Pope John Paul II initiated the construction to provide a more comfortable environment for cardinal electors during the conclave.
The guesthouse's convenient location allows cardinals easy access to the Sistine Chapel via shuttle or a short walk through the Vatican gardens. After the election, the guesthouse reverts to its usual occupants.
The pope has moved out of the room he drew by lot before the conclave and into Casa Santa Marta's suite 201, a room that has slightly more elegant furnishings and a larger living room where he can receive guests.
The guesthouse was built in 1996 on the site of an ancient hospice for the poor. The five-story building has 106 suites, 22 single rooms, and one apartment and sits on the edge of Vatican City. It is regularly inhabited by a few dozen priests and bishops who work in the Vatican. Half the rooms are available for cardinals and bishops visiting Rome for audiences or other official occasions.
Regulations for the conclave demand that cardinals live together, separated from the outside world, until a pope is elected. In the past, they'd slept on cots in small rooms adjacent to the Sistine Chapel.
It was Pope John Paul II who called for the construction of a residence where cardinal electors—the cardinals who can cast votes in papal elections—could live during the papal election.
From the Casa Santa Marta, they can reach the Sistine Chapel by shuttle bus or by a short walk inside the Vatican gardens. After the election, the regular occupants return to the guesthouse.
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