Benedict XVI pays a surprise visit to Castel Gandolfo

July 26, 2019 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Jul 26, 2019 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI left Vatican City Thursday to make a surprise visit to Castel Gandolfo.

The pope emeritus visited the Pontifical Villa July 25 for the first time in four years, and walked the garden paths where he used to pray, according to Italian media.

Benedict XVI then went to the 15th century Sanctuary of the Madonna of Tufo in Rocca di Papa for a short prayer before traveling to the town of Frascati in the Alban Hills outside of Rome.

In Frascati, Benedict had a private dinner with Bishop Raffaello Martinelli of Frascati at the Bishop’s Palace. Benedict’s private secretary and Prefect of the Papal Household Archbishop Georg Gaenswein accompanied them.

Since his resignation in Feb. 2013, Benedict has led a life of prayer, occasionally consulting with and meeting with his successor. At age 92, he currently resides in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery within Vatican City State, where he has few private meetings with guests for breakfast or lunch.

During his pontificate, Benedict XVI used to spend his summers at the Pontifical Villa in Castel Gandolfo, which was conceded to the Holy See as an extraterritorial possession under the Lateran Pact of 1929.

The villa has served as the papal summer residence since the reign of Pope Urban VIII during the 17th century.

Pope Francis broke the tradition after his election in 2013, choosing to spend his summers in Rome in his residence in Vatican City’s Domus Sanctae Marthae guest house.

The Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo was opened to the public in 2016. Visitors can see the papal library, private study, throne room, consistory hall, and private chapel in the papal residence, as well as the bedroom where Popes Pius XII and Paul VI died.

The villa also has a small farm created by Pope Pius XI, which produces eggs, milk, oil, vegetables and honey either for local employees, or for sale in the Vatican supermarket.

During his stay at Castel Gandolfo in July 2011, Pope Benedict XVI said, “Here I find everything: mountains, the lake, and even the sea; a beautiful church with a renewed façade and good people. For these reasons, I am happy to be here.”

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Argentine bishop at Holy See financial office investigated for sex abuse

January 4, 2019 CNA Daily News 1

Vatican City, Jan 4, 2019 / 10:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Gustavo Oscar Zanchetta, an Argentine native appointed to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See in 2017, was accused last autumn of sexual abuse, the Holy See announced Friday.

Bishop Zanchetta had resigned as Bishop of Orán Aug. 1, 2017, slightly more than four years after his appointment there.

Alessandro Gisotti, interim Holy See press officer, said Jan. 4 that “at the time of his resignation there had been against [Bishop Zanchetta] accusations of authoritarianism, but there had been against him no accusation of sexual abuse … the accusations of sexual abuse date to this autumn.”

Bishop Zanchetta, 54, was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Quilmes in 1991. He remained there until his 2013 appointment by Pope Francis as Bishop of Orán.

Gisotti noted that the bishop was not removed from Orán, but that he himself chose to resign, saying the decision was “linked to his difficulty in managing relations with the diocesan clergy and in very tense relations with the priests of the diocese,” and that he had “an incapacity to govern the clergy.”

In announcing his resignation, Bishop Zanchetta had cited “a problem of health”.

Between his resignation and his appointment to APSA nearly four months later, Bishop Zanchetta spent some time in Spain, Gisotti reported.

“After the period in Spain, in consideration of his capacity for administrative management, he was nominated as assessor of APSA.”

APSA manages the Holy See’s assets and real estate holdings.

Gisotti also noted that when the bishop was appointed to APSA, the accusations of sexual abuse had not yet come to light.

“On the basis of these accusations and of the news which recently emerged in the media, the Bishop of  Orán has already collected some testimonies, which have yet to arrive to the Congregation for Bishops. If the elements needed to proceed are confirmed, the case will be referred to the special commission for bishops.”

The accusations of abuse against the bishop have apparently been levied by priests and seminarians.

While the investigation is ongoing, Gisotti stated, Bishop Zanchetta will not be working in his capacity as assessor.

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