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Benedict XVI Makes Excursion from Vatican to Visit Old Papal Retreat of Castel Gandolfo

Pope Emeritus Welcomed Invitation to Spend Afternoon and Evening in Castelli Romani

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Benedict XVI yesterday, July 25, 2019, made a surprise excursion from the Vatican Gardens.
This morning in a brief statement, Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, responded to journalists’ inquiries, confirmed this, stating:”Archbishop Georg Ganswein,” the personal secretary to Benedict XVI and prefect of the papal household, “expressed to me this morning, that yesterday afternoon, at 4:15 pm, the Pope Emeritus went to the Castelli Romani.”
“First,” he noted, Benedict “went to Castel Gandolfo, with a pause in the gardens, and to the Belvedere for a walk and the recitation of the Rosary.”
Benedict, as Pope, always used to spend his summers at Castel Gandolfo.
“After, Benedict went to the Shrine of Our Lady del Tufo at Rocca di Papa and finally, together with Monsignor Raffaello Martinelli, to the Episcopal Curia of Frascati, where he stayed for dinner.”
“At 10:30 pm, he returned to the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery,” his residence in the Vatican gardens.
Monsignor Martinelli had invited the Pope Emeritus to make the visit and he had welcomed the invitation.
 

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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