Germany Pope bids farewell to Castel Gandolfo
Pope Leo XIV bid farewell to his summer vacation with a Sunday prayer in front of tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square. The 69-year-old, who has been at the head of the Catholic world church for two months, will spend the next two weeks at the popes' summer residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome. After a twelve-year break under his predecessor Francis, the US-American wants to use the palaces there again.
06.07.2025, 13:55
SDA
Leo combined the traditional Angelus prayer with an appeal for peace worldwide. "We ask the Lord to touch the hearts and inspire the minds of those in power so that the violence of weapons can be replaced by the pursuit of dialog," he said to the crowd in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. Leo returns to Rome from Castel Gandolfo on July 20. In the meantime, according to the Vatican, he will not be receiving guests for audiences.
Summer retreat used by popes for centuries
There has been a papal palace in the small town of 9,000 people south-east of Rome since the end of the 16th century. Since then, two more villas have been added. The first pontiff to take a break here in July and August was Urban VIII (1623-1644). The German Pope Benedict XIV even retreated to Castel Gandolfo for a while after his surprising resignation in 2013. Francis, however, always stayed in the Vatican, even in summer, in his apartment in the Santa Marta guest house.
By vacationing in Castel Gandolfo, the first pope from the USA is resuming another tradition that the Argentinian had broken with. The new pope also wears regalia more often, drives larger cars and wants to move back into the papal apartments in the Vatican. Francis' pontificate lasted twelve years. He died on Easter Monday at the age of 88. There are 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.
