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

<p>Longstanding tradition set to resume as new pontiff opts to spend summer holiday in Castel Gandolfo</p><p>When, soon after being elected in 2013, Pope Francis broke from longstanding Vatican tradition by choosing not to spend his summer holiday in the papal retreat of Castel Gandolfo, a sleepy hilltop town overlooking a lake about an hour south of Rome, residents were taken aback.</p><p>One shopkeeper, Anna, compared the perceived rejection to a divorce, while another said it slightly ruptured a sense of belonging.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/05/papal-retreat-castel-gandolfo-pope-leo-italy">Continue reading...</a>