Francis shuns papal house for 'psychiatric' reasons

Pope Francis says he has no wish to live in the apostolic apartments inhabited by previous pontiffs "for psychiatric reasons".

"Why don't I go to live in the Apostolic Palace? For psychiatric reasons!" Francis told students from Jesuit schools at the Vatican.

"I need to live with other people. I don't think it would be good for me to live alone," the 76-year-old Pope said.

Despite security concerns, Francis has been living at the Vatican's hotel since the conclave that elected him Pope in March, mingling at meals with other guests and celebrating daily masses there.

Francis lives in a suite of rooms in the Casa Santa Marta residence, which sits in the shadow of St. Peter's Basilica.

When he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio lived in a small apartment in the Argentine capital, cooked his own meals and regularly ate in a canteen with ordinary priests.