On Saturday evening, August 30, a procession of boats lit with hundreds of candles and adorned with countless flowers glided across the waters of Lake Castel Gandolfo (Albano). This evocative scene was part of the traditional nighttime procession on the lake in honor of the Virgin Mary, which since 1954 has drawn many faithful.
Hospitality, Compassion, Prayer
In the heart of Albano, within the historic and faith-filled walls of the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Rotonda, a day rich in spirituality, sharing, and closeness to the most vulnerable unfolded. On Sunday morning, August 17, Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Eucharist together with people assisted by the local Caritas and its volunteers, transforming the city’s historic center into a lively place of encounter and fraternity.
In Mary is our destiny
“When in this life we ‘choose life’ (cf. Dt 30:19), then in Mary, assumed into Heaven, we have reason to see our destiny. She is given to us as the sign that the Resurrection of Jesus was not an isolated event, an exception. All of us, in Christ, can swallow up death (cf. 1 Cor 15:54).” Thus spoke Pope Leo XIV during the concelebrated Eucharist in the Pontifical Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova (Castel Gandolfo) on Friday morning, August 15, on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A calling that sets one on the journey
A calling that becomes contagious—that of Saint Clare of Assisi—when, in San Damiano, even her mother Ortolana and her sister Beatrice embraced the same form of life. This is confirmation that it was not an isolated choice but rather “a calling that even today sets us on the journey, if we listen to it—a calling that provokes processes of inner transformation”. Thus spoke the Bishop of Albano, Monsignor Vincenzo Viva, as he presided over the concelebrated Eucharist on the feast of Saint Clare of Assisi, Monday afternoon, August 11, at the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception of the Poor Clares, located within the territory of the Pontifical Villas. The latter are administered by the Governorate of Vatican City State.
Not only science but qualified research at the service of the Church
On Thursday morning, July 31, the liturgical memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Richard Anthony D’Souza, S.J. as new Director of the Vatican Observatory. Fr. D'Souza has been serving at the Observatory as an astronomer for many years and he will begin his new role as Director on September 19, 2025.
- Appointment of Fr. Richard Anthony D’Souza, S.J., as Director of the Vatican Observatory
- Interview with Sr. Maria Donata Reboldi, Abbess of the Poor Clares of the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception in Albano
- Interview with Andrea Tamburelli, Director of the Pontifical Villas
- Pope Leo Visits the Cupole of the Vatican Observatory at the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo
