Pope Leo XIV rescinds Pope Francis’ 2023 policy ending free housing for top Vatican officials, restoring a long-held curial tradition.
Newsroom (09/02/2026 Gaudium Press ) Pope Leo XIV has rolled back a controversial Vatican housing policy introduced under Pope Francis, once again allowing senior officials and cardinals to receive free or subsidized Vatican apartments. The quiet but significant decision, made February 1, reverses a 2023 measure that had ended those benefits and sparked frustration within the Roman Curia.
Sources within the Vatican told The Pillar that Francis’ earlier policy—aimed at cutting costs during an economic downturn—was inconsistently applied and had unintended consequences for Church governance. Some senior Vatican posts reportedly went unfilled because qualified candidates declined to move to Rome without adequate housing support, given modest Vatican salaries and high living costs.
The 2023 decree, posted publicly in Vatican City at the request of Maximino Caballero Ledo, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, required cardinals and senior dicastery leaders to pay market-rate rents on Vatican-owned apartments or assume new rental obligations. Francis justified the change as a “necessary sacrifice” to fund the mission of the Holy See amid worsening economic conditions.
However, officials noted that the policy was unevenly enforced. It mainly applied to officials appointed after the decree, rather than those already occupying subsidized apartments. Among those affected at the time was Cardinal Robert Prevost—who would later become Pope Leo XIV—upon his appointment as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in March 2023.
The policy also contained provisions for papal exceptions determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on factors such as years of service, nationality, family circumstances, and clerical or lay status. Despite that flexibility, insiders say the system proved cumbersome.
“Under Francis’ regulations, it became difficult to appoint bishops or cardinals to positions in Rome if they didn’t live here unless an exception was granted,” one senior Vatican official explained. “A lot of people would refuse appointments because of rent costs and salary cuts.”
While Francis’ move was not meant to apply retroactively, at least one case drew attention. In November 2023, Cardinal Raymond Burke was told to pay market rent or vacate his Vatican apartment. Reports quickly surfaced that Pope Francis had described Burke as “my enemy,” though subsequent statements clarified that the pope had merely announced the removal of Burke’s housing and stipend due to what he viewed as conduct harmful to Church unity.
Francis biographer Austen Ivereigh later recounted that the pope told him he acted because Burke had been “using those privileges against the Church.” The episode exemplified how the housing policy came to symbolize broader tensions over Church governance during Francis’ later years as pope.
By ending the rule, Pope Leo XIV effectively restores the long-standing Vatican tradition of providing senior clergy with free or low-cost apartments—long considered an offset to the Curia’s modest wages. Cardinals typically earn about €4,500 per month, while rent for comparable accommodations near the Vatican can surpass €3,000.
The 2023 measure followed earlier austerity efforts, including pay cuts of 8% for senior officials and 10% for cardinals in 2021. In this context, housing support had been viewed not as a luxury but as a practical necessity to attract and retain qualified Church leaders.
Leo’s repeal of Francis’ decree was not formally announced by the Holy See. Italian newspaper Il Giornale first published news of the reversal, later confirmed by The Pillar through multiple Vatican sources.
“Leo has returned to the earlier situation, without requiring the additional payments demanded by Francis,” one curial official said.
For now, the move has brought quiet relief among Vatican ranks, signaling a potential shift toward administrative stability—and hinting at Pope Leo XIV’s intent to heal longstanding internal strains left from the previous pontificate.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from The Pillar
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