Moving back in: Pope Leo expected to live at Vatican's Apostolic Palace

By Joshua McElwee and Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Leo XIV is expected to live in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, unlike the late Pope Francis who shunned the palace in favour of a Vatican hotel, according to several Vatican officials.

The papal apartments occupy the top floor of the palace, a 16th century building that overlooks St. Peter's Square. They feature about 10 rooms, including a bedroom, private library and study, dining room, kitchen and chapel.

Renovation works at the palace are currently underway and Leo is expected to move in some time after his inaugural Mass as pope on Sunday, a senior Vatican official told Reuters, asking not to be identified.

Another official said the Vatican thought it would be easier to provide security for the new pope at the palace than at the hotel facility where Francis lived.

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni declined to answer a question on Friday about where Leo would live.

Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, is the first pope from the U.S. and was elected pontiff on May 8, following a short conclave of cardinals.

The pope is currently living in an apartment that he was previously using at the building that houses the Vatican's doctrinal office near St. Peter's.

Francis died on April 21 after leading the Church for 12 years.

He was the first pope since 1870 not to live in the palace, choosing instead to have his residence in the Vatican's Santa Marta hotel, a facility near the city-state's southern wall that houses visiting priests and other Vatican guests.

Francis was not fond of some of the grand trappings of the papacy and said he preferred to live in a community setting for his "psychological health". The late pope did however use the palace for his official meetings, and usually offered his weekly Sunday prayer from a window of the building.

The palace has not been lived in since February 2013, when Pope Benedict XVI moved out following his resignation as pontiff.

Renovation works are expected to include modernization of the bathrooms and will also address damp in the walls, Italian media reported.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee and Philip Pullella; Editing by Frances Kerry)