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Domus Sanctae Marthae
The Domus Sanctae Marthae (Latin for House of Saint Martha; Italian: Casa di Santa Marta) is a building adjacent to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Completed in 1996, during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, it is named after Martha of Bethany, who was a sibling to Mary and Lazarus of Bethany. The building functions as a guest house for clergy having business with the Holy See and as the temporary residence of members of the College of Cardinals while participating in a papal conclave to elect a new pope.
Pope Francis lived in a suite in the Domus Sanctae Marthae from his election in 2013 to his death in 2025, declining to live in the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace.
Prior to the construction of Domus Sanctae Marthae, cardinals participating in conclaves lived in uncomfortable makeshift rooms in the Apostolic Palace, which had limited bathroom and dining facilities and no air conditioning, which was difficult for older cardinals.
Pope John Paul II, after participating in two conclaves, decided to make the process more comfortable and less strenuous on the elderly cardinals, and commissioned the construction of Domus Sanctæ Marthæ. He specified it would serve for conclaves and at other times be available to "ecclesiastical personnel serving at the Secretariat of State and, as far as possible, at other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as to cardinals and bishops visiting Vatican City to see the Pope or to participate in events and meetings organized by the Holy See". Laymen have stayed there as well.
Italian environmental groups, joined by Italian politicians, protested against the construction because it would block the view of St. Peter's Basilica enjoyed from some nearby apartments. The head of the Vatican's Department of Technical Services contended that it would be lower in height than many neighborhood buildings and rejected challenges to the Vatican's right to build within its borders.
The hotel cost $20 million, with $13 million initially pledged by casino owner John E. Connelly, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who later received a contract to sell copies of Vatican art in the United States. Connelly did not fulfil his initial financial commitment after his business encountered financial setbacks. His art contract was also rescinded after he failed to extend his marketing efforts beyond Pittsburgh.
Connelly proposed Louis D. Astorino, a Pittsburgh-based architect, to design the building. When his design was rejected, Astorino remained to design the adjacent Chapel of the Holy Spirit while the Italian architect Giuseppe Facchini, former deputy director of the technical services of the governorate of the Vatican, designed the new building. The chapel occupies a site between the Leonine Wall and the guesthouse proper.
The five-story building has 106 suites, 22 single rooms and one apartment. It is run by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. Its amenities include furnished bedrooms, lavatories, and studies for each occupant. Dining facilities and personal services are offered. Mary Ann Glendon, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See from 2008 to 2009, described the accommodations as "comfortable, but by no means deluxe".
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Domus Sanctae Marthae
The Domus Sanctae Marthae (Latin for House of Saint Martha; Italian: Casa di Santa Marta) is a building adjacent to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Completed in 1996, during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, it is named after Martha of Bethany, who was a sibling to Mary and Lazarus of Bethany. The building functions as a guest house for clergy having business with the Holy See and as the temporary residence of members of the College of Cardinals while participating in a papal conclave to elect a new pope.
Pope Francis lived in a suite in the Domus Sanctae Marthae from his election in 2013 to his death in 2025, declining to live in the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace.
Prior to the construction of Domus Sanctae Marthae, cardinals participating in conclaves lived in uncomfortable makeshift rooms in the Apostolic Palace, which had limited bathroom and dining facilities and no air conditioning, which was difficult for older cardinals.
Pope John Paul II, after participating in two conclaves, decided to make the process more comfortable and less strenuous on the elderly cardinals, and commissioned the construction of Domus Sanctæ Marthæ. He specified it would serve for conclaves and at other times be available to "ecclesiastical personnel serving at the Secretariat of State and, as far as possible, at other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as to cardinals and bishops visiting Vatican City to see the Pope or to participate in events and meetings organized by the Holy See". Laymen have stayed there as well.
Italian environmental groups, joined by Italian politicians, protested against the construction because it would block the view of St. Peter's Basilica enjoyed from some nearby apartments. The head of the Vatican's Department of Technical Services contended that it would be lower in height than many neighborhood buildings and rejected challenges to the Vatican's right to build within its borders.
The hotel cost $20 million, with $13 million initially pledged by casino owner John E. Connelly, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who later received a contract to sell copies of Vatican art in the United States. Connelly did not fulfil his initial financial commitment after his business encountered financial setbacks. His art contract was also rescinded after he failed to extend his marketing efforts beyond Pittsburgh.
Connelly proposed Louis D. Astorino, a Pittsburgh-based architect, to design the building. When his design was rejected, Astorino remained to design the adjacent Chapel of the Holy Spirit while the Italian architect Giuseppe Facchini, former deputy director of the technical services of the governorate of the Vatican, designed the new building. The chapel occupies a site between the Leonine Wall and the guesthouse proper.
The five-story building has 106 suites, 22 single rooms and one apartment. It is run by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. Its amenities include furnished bedrooms, lavatories, and studies for each occupant. Dining facilities and personal services are offered. Mary Ann Glendon, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See from 2008 to 2009, described the accommodations as "comfortable, but by no means deluxe".