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SINGAPORE – Vestments worn by Pope Francis for and a booklet he thumbed the next day are among the items that will be archived by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore. These will be stored in temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms, with the usual professional standards observed, said Ms Valerie Siew, spokeswoman for the papal visit organising committee. The conscientious project was sparked by the breadth of paraphernalia left after the pontiff’s three-day visit, Ms Siew said, adding that these far outnumber the articles from Pope John Paul II’s five-hour stopover in 1986. The full inventory is being assessed by a pair of archivists at the chancery – the record-keeping arm of the church. If Pope Francis, 87, is canonised after his death, as some of his predecessors have been, these would become relics, or the sacred mementoes left by a saint.  On Sept 16, members of the media were given a tour of the pontiff’s lodgings at St Francis Xavier Retreat Centre in Punggol, which gave a hint of the man beneath the mitre.  The Pope was housed in a converted meeting room on the first floor of the former seminary, where the quiet is disturbed only by the drone of passing military planes. His quarters lay behind sliding doors with metal grilles, not unlike those common to public housing blocks. A wooden bed, a desk with a near-empty bottle of Acqua Panna mineral water, a straight-backed chair, a small shrine, and a narrow clothes rack were the largest pieces of furniture. A slim bouquet of fresh flowers arranged by local pre-schoolers freshened his bedside table. He made no special requests, save for a fridge to store gelato, said Ms Helen Seah, the centre’s property manager.  She added: “He loves ice cream. We had a mini fridge, but we needed a bigger one for the freezer.”  A borrowed fridge was duly stocked with store-bought tubs, though Ms Seah declined to give away the pontiff’s palate, saying only that a few flavours were provided, and two tubs left behind.  The hospitality team also installed grab rails in the en-suite bathroom because of Pope Francis’ age and mobility issues.  The only signs of his stately office were his coat of arms hung in a small frame on one bedroom wall and an “antechamber” just outside, on Sept 12. In that space, two armchairs – the same ones used in his bedroom and dining room – sat between the Vatican and Singapore flags. The Pope is known for his simple tastes. When appointed in 2013, he chose to move into a couple of sparsely furnished rooms, rather than the lavish state apartments used by his predecessors. In Singapore, he travelled in a Hyundai Ioniq 5 and greeted the faithful in a golf buggy. “He chose this place primarily because it is a simple place,” said Ms Siew of the retreat centre, which typically hosts Catholic and Christian camp groups.  “In line with his humble nature, you could say this is a humble abode,” she added.