Pope Leo XIV will escape Rome’s heat in July by going to papal villa

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV will spend two weeks of July at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, bringing back a centuries-old tradition that had been suspended by Pope Francis.

Pope Leo also will celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary for the whole town and visitors Aug. 15 as per tradition, according to the Prefecture of the Papal Household.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed Pope Leo would be staying in the Villa Barberini, the former summer residence of the Vatican secretaries of state; Pope Francis turned the former papal palace on the town’s main square into a museum, which opened in 2016.

All private audiences with the pope will be suspended during July, including the Wednesday general audiences, which will resume July 30, the prefecture said in a communique June 17.

“On the afternoon of Sunday, July 6, the Holy Father Leo XIV will move to the pontifical villas of Castel Gandolfo for a period of rest” until the afternoon of July 20, it said.

While he is at the hilltop town south of Rome, Pope Leo will celebrate Sunday morning Mass July 13 in the parish Church of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo’s main square, followed by the recitation of the Angelus prayer at noon in the square in front of the apostolic palace.

He will celebrate Sunday morning Mass July 20 in the cathedral of the nearby city of Albano Laziale. He will return to Castel Gandolfo to recite the Angelus at noon in the square and then return to the Vatican in the afternoon, the prefecture said.

Pope Leo will return to the papal summer villa for the three-day holiday weekend of Aug. 15-17. He will celebrate Mass Aug. 15 at the parish of St. Thomas, followed by the Angelus prayer in the square in front of the apostolic palace.

He will also recite the Sunday Angelus at noon Aug. 17 in the square before returning to the Vatican that afternoon, it added.

Castel Gandolfo was the summer residence of popes from 1626 until the election of Pope Francis, who chose to stay at the Vatican and not escape Rome’s summer heat at the cooler hilltop papal villa.

The town of close to 9,000 people about 15 miles southeast of Rome had relied on the massive influx of tourists and visitors during the period when popes would vacation there and greet the public at the Sunday Angelus. The highlight was always the feast of the Assumption of Mary Aug. 15 when the pope would celebrate Mass for the whole town and thousands of visitors.

To attract visitors back to the town year-round and not just in the summer, Pope Francis turned the palace into a museum and opened the villa’s gardens to tours.

Pope Leo spent several hours May 29 visiting the Borgo Laudato Si’ ecology project set up by Pope Francis in 2023 at the papal villa and farm in Castel Gandolfo, as well as the former papal summer residence there.

The papal property at Castel Gandolfo extends over 135 acres — surpassing the 108.7 acres of Vatican City. It includes 74 acres of gardens — 17 of which are formal gardens — 62 acres of farmland, three residences and a farm with chickens, hens, rabbits, assorted fowl, cows and a small dairy operation. There are also fruit and olive orchards, vineyards, hayfields, vegetable patches, aromatic herbs, flowerbeds and plants that often are used to decorate the papal apartments and meeting rooms at the Vatican.

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