‘We felt abandoned by Francis’: Pope Leo heads to traditional papal residence for summer break | Italy

WShortly after being elected in 2013, Pope Francis left the summer holiday from the Vatican tradition, which has been ongoing for a long time by choosing not to spend the summer vacation in a sleepy hill town, a sleepy hill town facing a lake about an hour south of Rome.

Anna owner Anna compares the perceived refusal with divorce, and another said that it has broken a sense of belonging a little.

Now, after 12 non -Pontiffs, his souls were restored by Pope Leo, who was chosen after Francis’s death in early May, and chose to revive Castel Gandolfo as a Papal Holiday Place.

Leo comes on Sunday for a two -week stay and will return in mid -August for a few more days of rest and relaxation.

Ana would be a shortcoming to say that we were happy, ”Anna said. “Not only because it produces an activity, but because it is the town of Papal – the air we breathe.”

Vatican’s connection with Castel Gandolfo began in 1596 when he bought a castle from a noble Roman family in the center of the town. Thirty years later, Papal Summer was founded after the renovations assigned by Pope Urbano VIII, the first poniff for the holiday in the town in search of escape from the suffocating heat of Rome.

The tradition continued almost uninterruptedly until Francis, which tended to prevent the Vatican’s glory and privilege. He visited Castel Gandolfo only three times and all in the first months of his Papal – to see his predecessor Benedict twice and once to chair Mass.

Francis put his summers into the humble Vatican dwelling. However, after becoming a museum in 2015, the Papal Palace helped Castel Gandolfo into more tourism centers from a Hacı region. Visitors can walk around the Renaissance gardens and wide rooms, which were worn by crowded priests until the 16th century and are magnificent in the view of Lake Albano, one of the windows of the Papal bedroom.

Maurizio Carosi, who had a bar and souvenir shop opposite the palace with his son, said, ık We felt abandoned by Francis and was difficult for the first few years. ” “But now we’ve moved to a tourist town from a Hacı town – so even if Francis didn’t come, he gave us a spiritual accusation.”

While the palace will remain as a museum, Leo and its Swiss guards reside in another renewed property on the grounds.

The excitement in the town is felt when preparing for the arrival of the American Pontiff. On the morning of Friday morning, the gardeners were preenled by the grass in the palace, the workers were making the last touches on the Pope’s holiday house and preparing the tennis court, so Leo could pamper his passion for the game.

As with the priests on history, the break will not be about resting. Leo is expected to host viewers and rosaries for local residents and fulfill their Vatican duties.

San Tommoso Dal Villanova Church of the Church of the community Tadeusz Rozmus, “They do not stop working because they are on holiday,” he said. “Pope John Paul II wrote Enikans here and others hosted the heads of state. Castel Gandolfo will be a much more pleasant place to live in the summer because they could escape from Rome’s heat and the summer will be hot with the way of going.”

Castel Gandolfo Mayor Alberto de Angelis easily adopted the return of Papal, especially because the town is expected to fill its chests. “Knowing that Pope Leo has listened to the wishes of our community waiting to see a pope in its square for years, he fills our hearts and souls with joy, ı he wrote on social media.

The distribution of the town’s souvenir shops is full of souvenirs that contain Leo’s image. “Everyone wants his image, but I heard that he didn’t want to see glasses, plates, candles, or whatever, Car Carosi said, claiming that the thing sold in Rome was Bootleg. “Leo souvenirs were not officially authorized.”

Carosi was born in Castel Gandolfo, and in the past he remembers greeting people and remembering handshakes.

When it comes to Pope Leo, his character was “not discovered yet. “But I know it will be happy here,” he added. “There will be a view of the lake, he will breathe fresh air and he will find himself among good people. As an athletic Pope, he will have the opportunity to enjoy long walks in the gardens.”