By Carol P. Bartold

Sep. 16, 2015:  Thanks to Bronxville architect and resident Maggie Marrone, Pope Francis will have newly refurbished quarters to settle into when he arrives for his September 24-26 visit to New York City.

When the Pope's visit to the United States was announced in April, a friend of Marrone's who works for the Vatican at the United Nations tapped her to join the team renovating private areas of the residence of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, where Pope Francis will stay.

"It's a beautiful brownstone," Marrone said about the five-story, almost-11,000-square-foot, neo-Renaissance Upper East Side townhouse, "but it definitely needed updating and it's a fast-paced renovation that we did."

In recognition of her contribution to making Pope Francis's stay in New York comfortable, Marrone will have an audience with the Holy Father in the residence on Friday, September 25, before he addresses the United Nations General Assembly.

Marrone was involved in the architectural work to update three bathrooms, including one that the Pope will use during his visit, and a kitchen. She also designed cabinetry for the kitchen as well as a desk and storage area. "That was the extent of architectural work," she explained. The rest of the renovation involved interior design.

Marrone added that the Pope's bedroom, some private sitting rooms, and quarters on the fifth floor have been redesigned. Members of the Swiss Guard, Pope Francis's security detail, will stay in those upstairs rooms.

"I also got involved in doing things I don't usually do, like moving furniture around and picking out light fixtures," Marrone said. "The house has beautiful antique furniture but things needed to be rearranged to look the best for the Pope's visit."

Marrone praised the team of designers and contractors involved in the renovation. "The Vatican has quite a team; their representative is amazing. Everyone from the talented interior designer to the contractors was organized and did a superb job," she said.

The house, built in the 1890s and deeded to the Archbishop of New York in 1975, is a very interesting and spectacular structure, Marrone noted, with high ceilings and moldings and a chapel on an upper floor, but not the most livable space because of all the stairs. "It's definitely from another era," she said. The house was the residence of Hugh J. Grant, mayor of New York from 1889 until 1892.

An art major at Holy Cross University, Ms. Marrone studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. She began her career working for large architectural firms and moved to residential renovation and addition work when she started a family. "I've been working for over 30 years in this field," she said. "This work for the Vatican was a nice change of pace for me."

Pictured here:  Bronxville architect Maggie Marrone. 

Photo courtesy Maggie Marrone