Pope's Alpine Holiday Ends

The Holy Father ended his vacation at Valle d'Aosta today and left for his summer papal residence at Castel Gandolfo. It seems his Holiness thoroughly enjoyed his Alpine holiday with afternoon hikes and playing the piano delighting his companions with Mozart in the evenings. He made impromptu visits to the local museum and chatted with the locals and reporters. It was also reported that he was finishing a book he had been working on for the last three years. Zenit reports that on the day prior to his departure, the Holy Father took a walk in the mountains with his private secretary Msgr. Gaenswein and Alpine guide Albert Cerise, and at one point the guide pointed out a mountain peak where an avalanche wiped out a whole village, to which the Pope replied: "A whole village? 'Mamma mia!'"

The Pope kept a low profile all throughout his stay except for his Sunday Angelus and a meeting with the clergy. He was said to have joked with the local pastor, "Don't worry; I will be an obedient parishioner." Read more here.