Visit Castelgandolfo

Pope Benedict XVI greeted pilgrims at Castelgandolfo

Statue of Don Bosco inside the parish church at Castelgandolfo

Today we went to Castelgandolfo to say the Angelus with Pope Benedict XVI. Our group was really lucky to be able to come here, as the crowd was much smaller here than in St Peter’s Square, and it also gave us the “bonus” trip to this beautiful spot where the Pope comes every summer to avoid the stifling heat of Rome. We had an early start to be in time for Mass at Castelgandolfo at 9am. It was a nice discovery that the parish church seems to have a strong Salesian link when we found a beautiful statue of Mary Help of Christians and a statue of Don Bosco complete with the children around him! As we had plenty of time to spend here, all Sisters had a chance to take photos near both statues! 

The wait was long but it was worth it when we could see the Pope quite close-up from his balcony. It was a wonderful experience to see so many people from all over the world coming here, waiting for hours, just to be with the Pope for about 15 minutes to say the Angelus! On the way back, we were amazed to learn about the difficult lives of the early Christians with the visit to the Catacombs of St. Callistus.

by Sr Thuy-Linh Nguyen SPR