Pope to resume summer retreat in Italian Alps after two-year hiatus

Published: 2004-06-28

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After a two-year hiatus, Pope John Paul II was set to resume his traditional two-week mountain retreat in Italy's northern Alps. The pope will be on vacation July 5-17 in Italy's Valle D'Aosta region; no private audiences will be held, according to a June 26 press release by the prefecture of the pontifical household. The pope then will spend the rest of his vacation at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo in the hills south of Rome. He will resume his public recitation of the Sunday Angelus July 18 and his weekly morning general audience on July 21. All public and private audiences will be held at the summer residence until his expected return to the Vatican in late September. Although the papal schedule slows down in July and August, the pope continues to meet with dignitaries, church groups and bishops from around the world.

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