Pope Leo XIV plans to use his summer break at Castel Gandolfo to draft the framework of his first encyclical, according to his longtime friend and fellow Augustinian, Fr Alejandro Moral Antón. Source: OSV News.
Pope Leo began his summer break on Sunday, where he’ll stay until July 20.
Fr Moral, prior general of the Augustinian order, shared insights with the Italian daily Il Messaggero on how Pope Leo will spend his summer break in Castel Gandolfo.
“When he informed me that he would take a break by going to Castel Gandolfo, I was personally very happy. I know he is working a lot, with astonishing rhythms. He is an indefatigable person and I know that by nature he never backs down. But lately, I have even seen him a bit thinner,” Fr Moral, a 70-year-old Spaniard, told Il Messaggero.
While the fellow Augustinian admitted Pope Leo’s “public commitments have been reduced to a minimum during the holiday and that “he will recite the Angelus and celebrate Sunday Mass in nearby parishes,” he said that at Villa Barberini, where the Pope will be staying, “I know he will begin work on his first encyclical.”
Asked whether the title is known yet, he said: “I don’t think so, the other day he just told me that he will use these two weeks to develop the main structure of the text. Obviously, he is already working on it, but he is forced to do it in the evening or in spare moments and would need more time, which will happen during the vacation.”
Regarding the encyclical, Fr MoraI said: “I can imagine it will be something related to the concepts evoked since the first hours of his election. The theme of peace, social doctrine, unity, artificial intelligence. But these are just my deductions.”
FULL STORY
Augustinian prior opens up about papal vacation, first encyclical, appointments and tennis (OSV News)
