Pope Leo returns to Castel Gandolfo for mini-break
The Catholic Herald • August 14, 2025
Pope Leo XIV has returned to Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence where he spent over two weeks for his summer holiday.
After arriving for what appears a short mini-break, he briefly spoke to reporters about different conflicts taking place in the world, reports the Rome-based Catholic news agency Crux.
He addressed the war in Ukraine, emphasising that the countries involved “must always seek a ceasefire”, with his comments coming ahead of US President Donald Trump due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday to discuss potentially ending the war.
“The violence, the many deaths, must stop,” Pope Leo said.“Let’s see how they can come to an agreement. Because after all this time, what is the purpose of war? We must always seek dialogue, diplomatic efforts; not violence, not weapons.”
The Vatican had previously offered to host the meeting between Trump and Putin in Rome, but Russia turned down the offer.
In his conversation with reporters, Pope Leo also spoke about the war in Gaza, which has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people, many of whom are civilians.
“The humanitarian crisis must be resolved. We cannot go on like this. We know the violence of terrorism, and we honour the many who have died, as well as the hostages – they must be freed," Pope Leo told reporters.
"But we must also think of the many who are dying of hunger."
The Pope admitted that the Holy See cannot stop wars, before adding: “But we are working, let’s say, on ‘soft diplomacy' – always inviting, encouraging the pursuit of nonviolence through dialogue and seeking solutions, because these problems cannot be solved by war.”
Castel Gandolfo, situated on a hilltop in the Alban Hills with panoramic views of Lake Albano and regarded as one of Italy's most scenic towns, is the traditional summer residence for popes. Pope Francis broke with this tradition and decided to stay at the Vatican during the summer. Pope Leo XIV has revived the tradition and previously stayed there from 6–22 July.
He was originally going to return to the small picturesque town 25 km southeast of Rome for the weekend of Italy's forthcoming Ferragosto festival and holiday, Crux reports, but it was announced on Wednesday that he would arrive a few days earlier and thereby extend his small vacation.
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) reports that after a day of rest on Friday, 15 August, coinciding with the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Leo is scheduled to celebrate Mass at the pontifical parish in Castel Gandolfo.
Then on Sunday, 17 August, at 9:30 a.m. local time, the Holy Father will arrive at the shrine in Santa Maria della Rotonda in Albano, an Italian town bordering Castel Gandolfo, to celebrate Mass with a group of people receiving assistance from Caritas.
Following Mass, he will head to Castel Gandolfo to pray the Angelus at noon in Liberty Plaza. He will later share lunch with 100 low-income people at Borgo Laudato Si’, an ecological and social project inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’.
On the afternoon of Sunday, 17 August, the Pope will return to the Vatican.
In addition to his unceasing workload as the international community continues to be unable to resolve major and seemingly intractable conflicts, the pontiff, like all those living in Rome, has been contending with summer temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Italian capital this week.
Photo: Pope Leo XIV during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, 13 August 2025. (Photo by MARIA GRAZIA PICCIARELLA/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images.)