Latest news with #PapalTradition
The Independent
8 hours ago
- The Independent
How Leo is resuming a papal tradition this summer
Pope Leo XIV will resume the papal tradition of taking a summer break outside Rome, as announced by the Vatican on Tuesday. Leo will stay at the papal retreat of Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, from 6-20 July for rest and again in August for the Assumption feast day. Pope Urban VIII built the palace in 1624 to provide popes an escape from the Roman summer. Its grounds span 55 hectares, larger than Vatican City. Pope Francis, who died just after Easter, never took summer vacations during his 12-year papacy, but his predecessors John Paul II and Benedict XVI frequented Castel Gandolfo. Leo will deliver the traditional Angelus blessing to the faithful at Castel Gandolfo on 13 and 20 July and 15 and 17 August, with public audiences at the Vatican suspended for most of July, resuming on 30 July.
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Pope Leo escapes Rome's summer heat to the nearby Castel Gandolfo
Pope Leo XIV will resume the papal tradition of taking a summer break outside Rome, the Vatican announced on Tuesday. Leo will transfer to the papal retreat of Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, from July 6-20 'for a period of rest' and again for a few days over the Catholic Assumption feast day in August, the Vatican said. Leo visited the papal summer palace last month, raising speculation that he would resume a tradition that goes back centuries. Pope Urban VIII built the palace in 1624 to give popes an escape from the sweltering Roman summer. It was enlarged over succeeding pontificates to its present size of 55 hectares (136 acres), bigger than Vatican City itself. Pope Francis, who died just after Easter, was known as a workaholic homebody who never took a proper vacation during his 12-year papacy, staying at the Vatican even during the hot summer months. Both of Francis' immediate predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, spent time at Castel Gandolfo, interspersed with visits to the northern Italian Alps. Benedict was especially fond of Castel Gandolfo, closing his papacy out there in 2013. Francis opened the palazzo's gardens to the public in 2014 and later turned part of it into a museum. In what will be a boon to the local community, Leo is resuming the traditional Angelus blessing to the faithful gathered in front of Castel Gandolfo on July 13 and July 20, and again on Aug. 15 and Aug. 17, when he returns for a short stay over Italy's most important summer holiday. Public and private audiences at the Vatican will be suspended for most of July, resuming on July 30.
