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Vatican releases Pope's summer schedule (Subscribe to RSS Feed)

Vatican, Jul. 1, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican has announced the summer schedule for Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news), including a 9-day trip to Australia and a 2-week vacation in the Italian Alps.

The Holy Father will leave the Vatican on Wednesday, July 2, after his regular weekly audience, for the summer papal residence at Castel Gandolfo. He wlll leave from there on July 12 for his trip to Australia for World Youth Day.

Upon his return from Australia, the Pope will stay at Castel Gandolfo for a week, then travel to the town of Bressanone, in Italy's Bolzano region, where he will stay in the diocesan seminary for a 2-week vacation. He will stay in Bressanone from July 28 to August 11, then return to Castel Gandolfo once again.

During his summer stay at Castel Gandolfo the Pope will not hold private audiences with visiting dignitaries. He will hold his Angelus audiences on Sundays in Castel Gandolfo while he is staying there, and in Bressanone during his vacation time.

After his July 2 public audience the Pope will suspend the weekly sessions. The Wednesday audiences will resume on August 13 after his return from his Alpine vacation.

The Vatican did not announce where the Pope would hold his weekly public audiences in August. In the past he has held some Wednesday audiences at Castel Gandolfo, and taken the short helicopter ride to the Vatican for other weekly audiences. The Pope is expected to stay at Castel Gandolfo through the end of the summer.