(ZENIT News / Mentorella, 08.19.2025).- The summer retreat of Pope Leo XIV at Castel Gandolfo concluded with a gesture of prayer that reached far beyond the quiet slopes of the Lazio hills. Before returning to the Vatican on August 19, the pontiff made a private pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace at Mentorella, a place steeped in history, and personal devotion for many of his predecessors.
Perched dramatically on the Guadagnolo peak—the highest inhabited point in the Lazio region—the sanctuary has long been regarded as a spiritual lookout over the Tiber Valley. Tradition traces its origins back to the age of Constantine, while later centuries saw the prayers of Saint Benedict and Saint Gregory the Great echo in its caves. In modern times, the sanctuary became a recurring refuge for John Paul II, who as both cardinal and pope walked its trails, prayed in its chapel, and bequeathed to it a legacy of Marian devotion that continues to resonate.
It was to this setting, half-hidden among the Prenestini mountains, that Leo XIV traveled quietly on Thuesday morning. Accompanied only by the Resurrectionist fathers who guard the site, he entered into prayer before the Madonna delle Grazie, lighting what one custodian called “a candle of peace,” asking not only for blessing upon the faithful but for peace across the world. A second candle, placed in the cave associated with Saint Benedict, was named “the candle of hope”—a plea for the protection of Europe’s nations under the patronage of the continent’s great monastic founder.
Father Adam Dźwigoń, one of the Polish Resurrectionist priests entrusted with the sanctuary, recalled the atmosphere of the visit as one of quiet intensity. “We awaited him with serenity, even surprising ourselves,” he said, noting how the Pope had sought continuity with his predecessors. The image of the “white pilgrim,” once used for John Paul II and Benedict XVI, seemed to return in Leo XIV’s discreet gestures. The pontiff also left behind a chalice as a gift to the sanctuary, echoing a similar offering once made by John Paul II. “Now we keep both,” Father Adam remarked, “as signs of memory and continuity.”
Though the visit was unannounced, a small group of faithful managed to glimpse the Pope upon his arrival. He greeted them briefly before withdrawing into the sanctuary’s silence, intent on keeping his prayer personal and unadorned. For a few hours, the rhythms of Castel Gandolfo and the bustle of Vatican diplomacy yielded to the contemplative solitude of the mountain shrine.
As the Pope returned later to Castel Gandolfo, preparing to end his six-day stay at the papal summer residence, the image left behind was a pilgrim seeking shelter at the feet of Mary.
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