Rome, Italy, Mar 16, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis on Tuesday said the Lateran Palace, the former centuries-long papal residence located in southeast Rome, should now be used as a museum.

In a letter to Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the vicar of Rome, published March 16, Pope Francis wrote that a desire to promote and protect the Church’s beauty and cultural heritage had inspired him to dedicate the Lateran Palace for “museum and cultural activities.”