The pontiff travelled from his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo to the Benedictine abbey rebuilt after being destroyed in the Battle of MonteCassino, entrusting his plea for peace to the saint regarded as the father of Western monasticism.

Pope Leo XIV paid a surprise visit to the Abbey of Montecassino on Monday, meeting its monastic community and praying for peace at the tomb of Saint Benedict, the Vatican said.

According to a statement from the Holy See Press Office, the Pope paused to pray at Benedict’s tomb, entrusting to him his plea for peace in those regions of the world marked by bloodshed and conflict.

The Abbey of Montecassino was founded by Benedict of Nursia around 529 AD, and it was there that he wrote his Rule, which went on to become one of the foundational texts of Western monasticism. The abbey had to be rebuilt after the Second World War, having been destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944 during the Battle of Monte Cassino, one of the most fiercely contested engagements of the Italian campaign.

A pattern of quiet pilgrimages

Monday’s visit was Leo’s first to Montecassino since his election to the papacy in 2025. However, it echoes a similar gesture from earlier in his pontificate: while on vacation that year, he also made an unannounced visit to the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie della Mentorella in Guadagnolo, where he likewise prayed for peace.

The trip also marked Leo’s third public appearance during his current stay at Castel Gandolfo, aside from his Sunday Angelus addresses, following a lunch with the poor on 11th July and a summer concert on 18th July. Outside of the Sunday Angelus, all of the Pope’s private and public audiences, including the weekly general audience, are suspended for the duration of his summer break.

After praying at the tomb, the Pope had lunch with the abbey’s religious community before returning to Castel Gandolfo, where he is spending his summer break until 27th July.