BBC: Pope Francis has decided to shun a grand papal apartment on the top floor of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace in favour of a modest two-room residence.
His spokesman said he was "trying out this type of simple living" in a communal building with other priests.
In doing so he has broken a tradition which is more than a century old.
The decision reinforces the newly-elected Pope's austere reputation. As archbishop of Buenos Aires he refused to move into the Bishop's Palace.
Preferring more modest accommodation, he also often cooked his own meals.
Communal meals
Since the reign of Pope Pius X at the beginning of the 20th Century every pope has occupied the palatial penthouse apartment with more than a dozen rooms, staff quarters, a terrace and extensive views over the city of Rome.
But since his election Pope Francis has been living in a simple two-room suite in the Domus Santa Marta - a hotel-style residence built by his predecessor Pope John Paul II next to St Peter's Basilica.
And he intends to go on living there for the foreseeable future, according to the Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi.
"This morning he let his fellow cardinals know that he will keep living with them for a certain period of time," Mr Lombardi said. » | Tuesday, March 26, 2013
