As Pope Leo began his three-week stay in Castel Gandolfo, the pastor of the parish there said in an interview that “we simply want him to feel at home here and to spend this time peacefully, according to his own wishes.”
Father Tadeusz Rozmus, S.D.B., also spoke about the emotion felt by the town’s residents as a result of Pope Leo’s decision to return to Castel Gandolfo. Since 1626, the popes have customarily spent at least part of their summers there. Pope Francis abandoned the custom after 2013; Pope Leo resumed it last year.