On Thursday, May 29, the Feast of the Ascension, Pope Leo XIV made a private visit to Borgo Laudato si’, located within the Gardens of the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo.

He was welcomed by Cardinal Fabio Baggio, Director General of the Laudato si’ Center for Advanced Formation, and by Father Manuel Dorantes, Administrative and Operations Director. The Pope paused in the Giardino della Madonnina—a garden historically cherished by many popes over the centuries—and visited the Belvedere Gardens.

The Holy Father then stopped at the Cryptoporticus of the first-century Villa of Domitian, the archaeological remains of the audience hall of Emperor Domitian. There, he took a moment to recall the courageous actions of Pope Pius XII, who, in 1944, provided shelter to over 12,000 people following the bombing of the Castelli Romani region during World War II.