Pope John Paul II takes annual R&R

The Holy Father has just ended his vacation in the Alpine Alps and headed south to his pontifical summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. His Holiness had just spent 12 days of rest in the village of Les Combes in Valle d'Aosta, which lies at the foot of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in western Europe.

His farewell remarks were also addressed to the local security forces, whom he described as "guardian angels." The Pope expressed his thanks for the "efficiency and discretion" with which they looked after him during his stay in Valle d'Aosta, a service that is "not easy."

Pope John Paul II left Les Combes last Saturday for the Aosta airport, where he was bidden farewell by Bishop Giuseppe Anfossi. The Pope arrived in the Ciampino airport and went directly to Castel Gandolfo where he will carry out his ordinary activities for the rest of the summer. For the faithful of the suburbicarian Diocese of Albano, which includes Castel Gandolfo, it is a "great joy" to welcome the Holy Father and a "great privilege which enables us to live these summer months with ecclesial intensity," said the Bishop, +Agostino Vallini.

+ John Paul II will spend his summer here, working, resting, praying, reading, etc. When he finds rare "free time", and when he is not ambling around the gardens there in prayer, the Pope writes poems -- "bold, rich poetry that speaks of human love as if he were a minstrel and of the love of God as a mystic," said his spokesman Joaquín Navarro-Valls.

This same time last year, after his trips to Canada, Guatemala and Mexico, and after that to Poland, the Pope had some days of R&R at Castel Gandolfo. He then reopened a "closed chapter" -- as he had called it -- of his life: poetry. In it he used images, impressions, and reflections that he had accumulated over his lifetime. The book on his pastoral and human experience as a bishop -- "Roman Triptych" -- resulted in many different languages.
 
(His work contains three new poems, the first written and published during + John Paul II's Pontificate. He draws scriptural inspiration from the Book of Genesis as the framework for his "Roman Triptych." Throughout the trio of poems, he reflects on God as the beginning and end of human life and all creation. He also ponders the beginning and end of his own time as Pope.)

The Holy Father's previous autobiographical book, "Gift and Mystery" (1996), was written on the occasion of the golden anniversary of his ordination to the Sacred Priesthood. Two months ago he released “Get Up, Let’s Go” which entreats his elevation to the episcopate in 1958 up to his election as the Successor of Peter in 1978. This work is a continuation of his previous autobiographical book, “Gift and Mystery,” which he wrote about his life as a priest.

That time last year, the Roman Pontiff remarked, "Summer vacations, which begin for many, precisely, in these days, if they are not 'burnt' in dissipation and simple diversion, can become a propitious occasion to give new breath to the interior life," he said. Let's wait and see what this year's vacation produces for His Holiness and us. May you also enjoys yours in happiness, safety and good health.

Although he's still pushing ahead despite Parkinson's disease and hip and knee ailments, I hope and pray that he gets to enjoy another outing in the Gran Sasso (Italian for "Big Rock"), a mountainous region of the Abruzzi which rise to 9560 feet and are situated some 62 miles from Rome. He always loved it on these local mountains where he found renewed inspiration.  Wish I could join him there. That is the natural element of this avid outdoorsman who was hiking and canoing with his young flock in the Tetra Mountains near Zakopane, Poland when received a telegram that he was named a Bishop.