Pope Leo XIV on Sunday heads to the papal summer residence for a six-week vacation, giving the hilltop town of Castel Gandolfo back its most illustrious resident after Pope Francis stayed away during his 12-year pontificate.

In his very first sermon as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV told the cardinals who elected him that anyone who exercises authority in the Catholic Church must “make oneself small,” so that only Christ remains.

Overlooking Lake Albano on a hill south of Rome, Castel Gandolfo was for centuries a much-loved papal summer retreat — until Pope Francis renounced both the estate and summer holidays. Now the tiny town is reclaiming its vaunted status as a Vatican outpost,