The Press Office of the Vatican confirmed Tuesday morning that Pope Francis will reduce his schedule as of July 1. It could be said that the Pontiff will take a vacation.
During the month of July the Pope will not hold any more audiences. Francis will not hold his usual Wednesday audience, but neither will he have special or extraordinary meetings. The time to see the Holy Father in public will be the Sunday Angelus, which he will continue to pray from his window.
These weeks of rest serve as preparation for the intense schedule of the WYDW in Lisbon in the first week of August. This meeting with young people from all over the world is the starting signal, after which Francis will resume the general audiences on August 9, just a couple of days after Portugal.
Despite reducing his schedule, the pope has been forgoing formal vacations for years and this year will be no different. He will continue to work on documents and other important issues at the Vatican. In fact, it is expected that in the coming months the Pontiff will publish a brief on the divorced in the Church, an issue that has been talked about for some time now.
Francis usually takes advantage of this time of rest to pray, read and rest. Despite not moving out of his residence in Santa Marta, the Pope also uses these days with a freer agenda to visit friends.
