Pope Leo XIV Revives Castel Gandolfo Retreat for Two-Week Summer Break

Pope Leo XIV left the Vatican on 6 July and settled into Villa Barberini at Castel Gandolfo, marking the first time since 2013 that a pontiff has used the hillside retreat south of Rome. The two-week visit is the 50-day-old pope’s first holiday following an intense series of inaugural audiences and Holy Year events after his 8 May election, and he said the stay is intended to “renew body and spirit.” During the break all private and general audiences are suspended until 30 July. The Vatican said Leo XIV will celebrate several liturgies in the area, beginning with a newly instituted Mass for the Care of Creation on 9 July, a parish Mass at St. Tommaso da Villanova in Castel Gandolfo on 13 July, and a service in nearby Albano before returning to the Vatican on 20 July. A second visit is planned for mid-August around the Feast of the Assumption. The move revives a centuries-old tradition largely set aside under Pope Francis, who opened the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo as a museum and chose to remain in Rome during summers. Benedict XVI was the last pontiff to reside there, shortly before his resignation. Local officials and residents welcomed Leo XIV, who walked part of the final approach to greet well-wishers and later waved from the villa’s balcony.