PPope Francis does not take vacations. The summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, where the popes used to flee from the heat of Rome since the 17th century, was opened to the public as a museum in 2016. His predecessors in office were often in the town in the Alban Hills. Shortly after his papal election in March 2013, Francis visited Benedict XVI there, who, even after his resignation, occasionally made trips to cooler regions.
Francis is particularly busy this summer. First, he accompanies the mediation mission of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, his emissary for the Ukraine war, to whom he has given letters to the presidents in Kiev, Moscow and Washington and who is to head for Beijing as the fourth leg.
