Leo XIV thanks the “Pontifical Family” in unusual audience

In the Vatican, Sunday audiences are rare, and even more so those granted by a pope to the lay members of the Apostolic Household. In fact, the last one dates back to January 10, 2014, at the beginning of Francis' pontificate. Now, Leo XIV decided to receive, shortly before the Angelus, the lay members of the “Pontifical Family.”

They are the inner circle surrounding the pope, which is coordinated by the Prefecture of the Papal Household. At its head is Regent Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, with the assistance in recent times of Augustinian priest Edward Daniang Daleng, Vice-Regent.

The Pontifical Family is composed of an ecclesiastical section and a lay section. The latter includes, in particular, the Gentlemen of His Holiness (gentiluomini di sua santità). They are heirs to the pontifical nobility that surrounded the sovereign pontiffs until Paul VI abolished the aristocratic dimension of the office in 1968. Recruited from among the civilian elite, they wear a uniform black three-piece suit and gold chains.

Next come the antechamber attendants (addetti di anticamera), who are responsible for welcoming guests and maintaining order during the pope's audiences and official ceremonies.

Finally, the pope can count on the pontifical chair bearers (sediari), who take their name from the Sedia gestatoria, a sedan chair formerly used to carry the pope. This tradition fell into disuse after World War II and was definitively abolished by John Paul II.

In the service of the pope, these employees are recognizable by their gray jackets and distinctive collars, which are gold or silver depending on their rank. In addition to other ceremonial duties, they are responsible for carrying the coffin of the deceased pope during funeral rites.

Receiving these gentlemen, antechamber attendants, and pontifical chair bearers, Pope Leo thanked them for their “dedication, [which] accompanies [him] and helps [him] and helps [him] every day in the apostolic mission,” particularly during state visits, but also during less formal moments. “Whether prince or pilgrim, patriarch or postulant, the solicitude of the Successor of Peter remains the same towards all and loving towards each one,” he told his collaborators.

Leo XIV praised the “sober beauty” of papal protocol. He highlighted “the diligence of gestures of welcome and greeting that are noble but not affected, elegant but not sophisticated, so as to communicate affability to everyone.”

“Thinking of the history of those who have gone before you, bear witness to their values with a consistent life,” the Pope told his employees. “[T]he service of honor certainly requires a particular code of ethics, but even more so a solid faith, and therefore a spiritual style marked by devotion to the Church and the Pope,” he concluded before blessing them.

Pope Leo XIV, who currently resides in his cardinal's apartment in the Palace of the Holy Office, may soon move into his apostolic apartments, where renovations have been carried out over the past eight months. His predecessor, Francis, did not wish to live there, preferring to occupy a suite inside the Santa Marta residence, a hotel located within the Vatican.

In recent days, several media outlets have reported on the progress of the work in the Apostolic Palace. The main news is that Leo XIV seems not to have chosen to move into the room of his predecessors on the third floor of the palace, but to stay on the upper floor, in apartments overlooking a small internal “cloister.”