Pope Leo XIV resumes tradition, arrives in Castel Gandolfo for vacation to restore 'body and spirit'

Pope Leo XIV arrived in the papal summer retreat of Castel Gandolfo on Sunday to start a six-week vacation, giving the hilltop town back its most illustrious resident after Pope Francis stayed away during his 12-year pontificate.

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Leo greeted well-wishers who lined the main road into town to welcome him before waving from the balcony of the villa where he will be staying for what he says will be a "brief period of rest."

"I hope everyone can have some vacation time to restore the body and spirit," Leo said before leaving the Vatican during his noontime prayer Sunday.

The 69-year-old Chicago native is resuming the papal tradition of leaving the Vatican for the hot summer months in favor of the relatively cooler climes of Castel Gandolfo, overlooking Lake Alban in the hills south of Rome. The area has been a favorite getaway for Roman rulers since the time of the Emperor Domitian in the first century.

It’s Leo’s first break after a frenetic few weeks of inaugural audiences, outings and Holy Year celebrations following his May 8 election as history’s first American pope. He’ll have a handful of public events while on holiday — Masses, Sunday noon prayers and even some events back at the Vatican — but officials expect he will use the time to rest, think and read in on key issues facing his new pontificate.