VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV is due to move into the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City in a few weeks, along with a small community.

According to Italian outlet La Repubblica, Leo XIV is soon to move into the papal apartments within the Apostolic Palace.

In a report published August 19, details were given outlining that renovations on the apartment are due to finish within a month. After that, Leo is expected to move in, marking the first time a pope has lived in the papal apartments since Benedict XVI left them in early 2013.

Pope Francis famously rejected living in the apartments, instead favoring to remain in the Casa Santa Martha guesthouse for the entirety of his pontificate. The decision, though posited by the secular media as motivated out of humility, was due to Francis’ preference for companionship. However, it added €200,000 per month to the Vatican’s bills amid a spiraling financial crisis.

READ: $30 million? The price of Pope Francis’ performative humility

Although Francis did not live in the apartment, he did use some of its rooms for official functions, such as welcoming visiting heads of state and dignitaries.

Pope Leo is to be accompanied by a small community, somewhat mirroring the style of Pope John Paul II. Alongside his private secretary Father Edgard Rimaycuna Inga – whose presence is not out of the norm – the Pope will be joined by a small group of Augustinians.

The religious – believed to be three in number and from Nigeria, Italy, and the Philippines – will join the daily household life of the Pope, taking meals with him and being present at his private Masses.

Leo, who officially joined the Augustinians in 1977, has already made visits to the neighboring Augustinian community beside the Vatican. The religious house there is one he knows well, having been based there for 12 years as prior general of the order.

Since his election as Pontiff the American Pope has maintained his prior abode in the palace of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Rumors first circulated as early as May 11 that Leo would take up residence in the Apostolic Palace.

During a meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on May 19, Leo slightly damped such speculation when he commented that it was not yet decided where he would live.

But just as with Leo’s use of the summer residence of Castel Gandolfo – another much-loved papal custom which Francis eschewed – it appears that he will bring back a certain sense of normality regarding the pope’s residence at the Vatican.

Along with Leo’s return to the Apostolic Palace will come certain key decisions about who will hold key roles in the papal household. Various staff in the papal household under Pope Francis have remained temporarily in place, including Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, who is the regent of the Prefecture of the Papal Household.

However, the prefect of the papal household has been a vacant position since the departure of Archbishop Georg Gänswein in February 2023.

It may be that Leo decides to follow the example of Benedict and make his private secretary the prefect of the papal household. Also possible is that Sapienza will be tasked with the role, having been the de facto ranking official in the papal household for the past few years.

Leo will also be making decisions about assistant secretaries. Although Fr. Rimaycuna is his chief secretary, the Pope has been assisted this week by one Father Daniel Pellizon while Rimaycuna is briefly away.

Pellizon’s presence with the Pontiff is notable, since he was a very close confidant of Pope Francis along with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández. Pellizon’s very close links with Fernández and Francis date back several years, to their native Argentina.

Rumors had circulated that the Argentine priest had returned home after Francis’ death, but his presence puts such chatter firmly to bed.

Should Pellizon remain in Leo’s service, it would make the continuation of Fernández’s position as prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith much more likely.

Like many positions in the Roman Curia, though, Leo has taken his time to make any announcements on changes or on temporary holders of office. Such revelations are anticipated this autumn, when the Vatican’s daily life returns to its regular schedule after the summer quiet period.