Pope to spend summer holidays in Castel Gandolfo

Lake Albano from Castel Gandolfo. Image ICN/JS

Source: Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV will resume the papal tradition of spending some time in Castel Gandolfo during the summer holidays this year.

According to a statement published by the Prefecture of the Papal Household today, the Holy Father will spend two separate periods in the hilltop town near Rome. He will spend half of July at the papal residence and then return for the Feast of the Assumption on August 15.

On the afternoon of Sunday, July 6, the Holy Father will travel to the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo for a period of rest, according to the statement.

On Sunday, July 13, at 10am, Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in the Pontifical Parish of Saint Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo, and at 12pm he will recite the Angelus prayer in Liberty Square, in front of the Apostolic Palace.

On Sunday, July 20, at 9.30am, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in the Cathedral of Albano. At noon, he will again recite the Angelus prayer in Liberty Square in Castel Gandolfo.

That afternoon, the Holy Father will return to the Vatican, where he will remain until traveling back to Castel Gandolfo in mid-August. The Jubilee of Youth is scheduled to take place on July 28 to August 3.

During the month of July, all private audiences are suspended, as well as the Wednesday General Audiences on July 2, 9, 16, and 23. The weekly General Audiences will resume on July 30.

On Friday, August 15, at 10am, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in the Pontifical Parish of Castel Gandolfo, reciting the noon-day Angelus in Liberty Square.

He will again recite the Angelus on Sunday, August 17, at noon in Liberty Square.

That afternoon, Pope Leo XIV will depart from Castel Gandolfo and return to the Vatican.

Since the early 1600s the popes took their summer holidays at Castel Gandolfo. Overlooking Lake Albano its a little cooler than Rome. But Pope Francis chose to remain in his residence at Casa Santa Marta during his July breaks - much to the disappointment of local businesses there, who depended on summer tourists coming to see the Holy Father. Pope Francis only visited Castel Gandolfo three times, including once to see his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who used the residence for a short time after his resignation in 2013, but Francis never spent the night there.

In 2016 the traditional papal residence was converted into a museum, allowing visitors access to both the sprawling gardens, the apostolic palace and astronomical observatory. Castel Gandolfo is also now home to Borgo Laudato Si', a project launched to promote integral ecology.

Pope Leo will be staying in a villa in the grounds of Castel Gandolfo, so the museum and ecology centre will continue to be open during his residence.

Some commentators have noted that Castel Gandolfo is near a tennis club. Pope Leo is a keen tennis player, so its possible he might like to get in a few sets there.