It is also holiday time for the Pope after his visit to Lampedusa on Saturday morning and after having accepted, on Saturday evening, the invitation of the US ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burchto go to his residence on the evening of Saturday 4 July, on the occasion of the United States national holiday.
Before leaving for Castel Gandolfo, where he will remain until the end of the month, Leo XIV recites the Angelus on this hot first Sunday of July still in St. Peter’s Square.
In the catechesis before the Marian prayer, the Pontiff comments on today’s passage from the Gospel of Matthew, focusing on the relationship between the revelation of God to the little ones and the authentic sense of the “yoke” of Christ, which is the logic of love and self-giving: «The Son of God, made man, manifests his love by involving every creature in this thanksgiving», he says, «the simplicity of such a spontaneous and joyful gesture corresponds to the style of God, who loves to reveal himself «to the little ones», while it remains hidden “from the wise and learned”. In fact, they are so full of their own ideas that they do not recognize the presence of Christ, the Messiah who visits his people. Human wisdom then becomes arrogance and doctrine degrades into pride».
For Pope Leo «the true wisdom of God is revealed instead in the humility of the flesh and his teaching is aimed at those who struggle most: “Come to me, all you who are tired and oppressed”, says the Lord. Going to Jesus means responding to his love and sharing his life up to the cross, as he himself explained to us: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me”. Precisely the gift of self out of love is the “yoke” of Jesus, that is, the synthesis of his teaching, the heart of his wisdom, burning with charity towards all».
Brothers and sisters, the Pope then asks, “how can the weight of the cross be ‘light’ and ‘sweet’?”. For one reason only: «Because the Lord brings it first and with all of us, without ever leaving us alone in what brings us down. As an authentic master, Jesus takes charge of humanity wounded by evil, to take care of it. The wisdom that He gives us is then an announcement of salvation and his yoke lifts us from every fall. In following Christ, our path is therefore not a mortifying asceticism: it is a school of freedom, which takes the drama of history seriously and always illuminates its meaning, especially in the darkest moments. In fact, only in the cross of Jesus is evil redeemed: only in his passion does our mortal tiredness find comfort and redemption.”
In slavery, the Pope continues, «Christ is liberation. Under the scourge of war, Christ is hope. In the hour of sin, Christ is forgiveness. This is true wisdom, that is, the path we want to travel together, united as disciples in his name. Jesus teaches us this as the Son, becoming our brother: with the strength of the Holy Spirit, He himself manifests to the Church the truth of God and man, because “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him”.
At the end of the Marian prayer, the Pope wanted to address a thought to Venezuela hit by an earthquake a week ago: «I always remember in my prayers the victims of the earthquake and all the Venezuelan people. May the Lord support him in this very difficult moment.” Finally, the reference to the new Vietnamese blessed Francesco Saverio Trùòng Bǚu: «Last Thursday, 2 July, in the Tac Say Shrine in Vietnam, the priest Francis Xavier Trùòng Bǚu, killed in 1946 out of hatred for the faith, was beatified», the Pope’s words, «in a context of abuse and violence, he positioned himself as a defender of people’s rights and did not abandon his parishioners. May his intercession and prayer support the workers of the Gospel who even today find themselves in situations of persecution.”
On the afternoon of Sunday 5 July, the Pope leaves for Castel Gandolfo, where he will spend a period of rest until 27 July, with the resumption of the general audiences scheduled for Wednesday 5 August. In the coming Sundays, the Angelus will be recited by the Pope in Piazza della Libertà in the town of Castelli Romani while all general and private audiences are suspended.
Pope Leo thus restores the tradition of the summer period spent by the Popes in the residence on Lake Albano which his predecessor Francis had interrupted, preferring to remain in the Vatican.
Holidays in 2025
In 2025 Leo XIV spent in the Villa Barberini di Castel Gandolfo 16 days of rest, from 6 to 22 July, during which there were some public commitments such as the celebrations in the “Borgo Laudato si'” for the first liturgy for the Custody of Creation, then in the pontifical parish of San Tommaso da Villanova and in the cathedral of Albano. The period was also characterized by some meetings such as the one with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, received at Villa Barberini, and the telephone call with the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, following the military attack by the Israeli army on the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza. Subsequently Pope Leo had a telephone conversation with Mahmoud
Abbas, president of the State of Palestine.
