Pope Leo starts his summer break at Castel Gandolfo with cheerful welcome

(OSV News) — When the papal coat of arms was hung at the balcony of the papal Castel Gandolfo residence July 5, locals knew that their main summer protagonist was on the way.

On Sunday afternoon, after praying the Angelus at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV came to the picturesque lake town for over three weeks of summer rest.

The joy was visible among those waiting to greet him.

“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 coming to Castel Gandolfo “always an important moment,” he thanked the locals for the 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 on July 5 the pope would move to Castel Gandolfo “for a period of rest, until Monday, July 27,” said a statement released just before the pope prayed the Angelus.

Rumors that he would spend a longer summer break in Castel Gandolfo had been circulating since April when news broke that the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo would temporarily close as renovations began in preparation for Pope Leo’s stay this summer.

According to an April 16 report by the Catholic television news agency Rome Reports, work on the residence began in May ahead of the pope’s anticipated arrival in July — which materialized July 7.

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.

On May 10, 1626, Pope Urban VIII became the first pope to spend time in a place known as a perfect summer escape from the Roman heat for local residents.

Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence, stands on the ruins of Emperor Domitian’s first-century villa, later developed into a medieval castle by the Gandolfi and Savelli families before passing to the Holy See in 1604.

Expanded and enriched by successive popes, it fell into disuse after 1870 but was restored following the 1929 Lateran Pacts, with its gardens unified and the Vatican Observatory relocated there in 1934.

Located about 15 miles 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 135 acres, including 74 acres of gardens and 62 acres 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.

One of the largest summer events is the feast of the Assumption of Mary on Aug. 15, when the pope traditionally celebrates Mass for the town and thousands of visitors.

In the summer of 2025, Pope Leo celebrated Mass for the town on the Marian feast day, as well as Masses in several nearby cities.

Before coming to Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo prayed the last Angelus from the Aposolic Palace window in the Vatican, recalling after the prayer Father Francis Xavier Truong Buu Diep whom the Church beatified in the first-ever beatification ceremony held in Vietnam July 2.

Killed in 1946 in hatred of the faith — “in odium fidei” in Latin — “amid oppression and violence, he defended the rights of the people and did not abandon his parishioners,” the pope said.

“May his intercession and prayers strengthen all those who proclaim the Gospel in situations of persecution today.”

The pope also said, “I continue to remember in my prayers the victims of the earthquake and all the Venezuelan people.”

“May the Lord sustain them in this time of great hardship,” he added.

For those wanting to join the pope in praying Angelus on July 12, 19 and 26, trains to Castel Gandolfo go directly from Rome’s Termini station, and the ride takes about 40 minutes.

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