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

Longstanding tradition set to resume as new pontiff opts to spend summer holiday in Castel Gandolfo

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.

One shopkeeper, Anna, compared the perceived rejection to a divorce, while another said it slightly ruptured a sense of belonging.