Pope Francis starts holiday break, suspends July papal events
Pope Francis has made an important decision. Starting Tuesday, he will be partly unavailable to the faithful and will not perform his usual duties. Francis is beginning his holiday, likely wanting to gather strength before the intense travels planned for September.
According to the "Vatican News" portal, July will be a time of holiday rest for Francis, meaning there will be no papal audiences throughout the month.
The Prefecture of the Papal Household, responsible for organising meetings with the Holy Father, has informed that from 2 July to the end of the month, there will be no Wednesday, special, or private audiences.
The first Wednesday audience after the holiday break will take place on 7 August, the portal informs.
The pope will not leave the Vatican. What are his plans?
During his rest, Francis will meet regularly with the faithful for the Sunday Angelus prayer. Due to the heat in August, the audiences will likely be held in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.
Additionally, he does not intend to go, like his predecessors, to the Castel Gandolfo residence, which, by his command, has recently been transformed into a museum.
Francis will stay in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he resides. Before the holiday break, he will preside over a consistory regarding upcoming canonisations. On 7 July, he will go to Trieste.
The year's second half will be an intense period for the Holy Father. In the first half of September, he will visit Asia and Oceania: Indonesia, East Timor, Singapore, and Papua New Guinea. Then, at the end of September, he will return to Europe, visiting Luxembourg and Belgium.
