Pope Leo XIV made an unannounced pilgrimage on Wednesday, visiting one of Italy’s most revered mountain shrines before continuing to two historic Benedictine monasteries that have shaped centuries of Catholic spirituality.
According to Vatican News, the Holy Father traveled by car from his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo to the Shrine of the Holy Trinity in Vallepietra before continuing to Subiaco to visit the Monastery of St. Benedict and the Monastery of St. Scholastica.
Nestled into the rock of Mount Autore at more than 1,800 meters above sea level, the Shrine of the Holy Trinity has long been a destination for pilgrims. Vatican News reported that Pope Leo spent time in silent prayer before the shrine’s revered fresco of the Holy Trinity before greeting members of the religious community and the faithful who were present.
The mountain sanctuary is especially known for its annual pilgrimages during Pentecost and the Feast of St. Anne on July 26, when thousands of pilgrims climb the mountain trails carrying banners as an expression of faith and devotion. The shrine’s cave preserves ancient frescoes, including a Byzantine depiction of the Holy Trinity represented as three identical figures of Christ, while a chapel dedicated to St. Anne is carved directly into the surrounding rock.
Following his visit to Vallepietra, the Pope traveled to Subiaco, home to one of the most significant centers of Benedictine spirituality in the world.
According to Vatican News, Pope Leo paused for silent meditation before the famous 13th-century fresco of St. Francis inside the Monastery of St. Benedict. While praying in the Sacred Cave where St. Benedict once lived as a hermit, the Holy Father also followed a long-standing tradition by kissing the knee of the saint’s statue before praying the Our Father with those gathered.
The Sacred Cave has been venerated for nearly a thousand years as the place where the young St. Benedict of Norcia withdrew into solitude during the early sixth century. According to Vatican News, it was there that the saint’s spiritual life matured, ultimately leading him to establish the first Benedictine monastic communities and laying the foundations of Western monasticism.
The Pope concluded his pilgrimage at the nearby Monastery of St. Scholastica, where he shared lunch with the Benedictine community before touring the monastery’s cloisters and convent, according to Vatican News.
Wednesday’s visits continue a pattern of quiet spiritual pilgrimages during the Pope’s summer stay at Castel Gandolfo. Vatican News noted that just two days earlier, on July 20, Pope Leo XIV made a private visit to the Abbey of Montecassino, where he prayed for global peace.
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