Pope Leo XIV has begun his summer holidays at the Castel Gandolfo papal residence, where he is expected to spend three weeks of rest. Source: OSV News.
Pope Leo left for the picturesque lake town after praying the Angelus at the Vatican on Sunday.
The joy was visible among those waiting to greet him at Castel Gandolfo.
“Good evening, Castel Gandolfo!” the Pope said, welcoming the cheering crowds from the balcony. “Welcome!” someone shouted out from below – with the distance between the Pope and the people much smaller than in the grand Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
“Thank you,” the Pope answered to the cordial laugh of the crowd. “I’m very happy to be here among you, to be able to spend the next few weeks with some rest, some prayer, some reading, and hopefully some sports,” he said.
Calling the visit to Castel Gandolfo “always an important moment,” he thanked the locals for their hospitality and for “being brothers and sisters”.
“I assure you of my prayers always, but especially during the next few weeks.”
The Prefecture of the Papal Household said in a statement on Sunday the Pope would move to Castel Gandolfo “for a period of rest, until Monday, July 27”.
The papal residence at Castel Gandolfo served as the summer residence of popes from 1626 until the election of Pope Francis, who chose to remain at the Vatican rather than retreat to the cooler hilltop residence outside Rome.
Located about 24 kilometres southeast of Rome, the town has long relied on an influx of tourists during the Pope’s stay. Pope Francis later converted the palace into a museum and opened the villa’s gardens to tours, drawing visitors year-round rather than only during the summer months.
The Castel Gandolfo property spans more than 55 hectares, including 30 hectares of gardens and 25 hectares of farmland, along with three residences and a farm with chickens, rabbits, assorted fowl, cows and a small dairy operation.
The grounds also include fruit and olive orchards, vineyards, hayfields, vegetable patches, aromatic herbs, flowerbeds and plants often used to decorate papal apartments and meeting rooms at the Vatican.
FULL STORY
Pope Leo starts his summer break at Castel Gandolfo with cheerful welcome (By Paulina Guzik and Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News)
