The agenda is always full. Published every day at noon, the list of audiences granted by Pope Francis seems ever longer. Groups of pilgrims, visiting bishops from all over the world, union and political leaders, the visitors follow one another at a steady pace. After a reduction in his schedule in the spring, the pope, 87, has resumed full activity for some time.
“I don’t know how he keeps up the pace.”admits a recent visitor. The latter describes being impressed when he joined the dignitaries waiting for their audience in a room of the Apostolic Palace. “I almost felt guilty about being there, continues the same source. Yet the Pope’s secretary told me to take all the time I needed.”
“At the Apostolic Palace, he begins to receive people earlier, around 7:30 a.m.says one of his collaborators. He finishes around 10 a.m., then returns home to Sainte-Marthe to continue his work. » The morning meetings are supplemented each afternoon by private meetings, the details of which are never published. So much so that the rumors of resignation, which were buzzing this winter, now seem to have faded a little.
In the coming weeks, Francis will also have to take some vacation. He will remain in Rome, but his schedule will be a little lighter in July, since public audiences will be suspended as usual. However, unlike his predecessors, the Pope will not go to Castel Gandolfo but will remain in the Vatican, where he will continue to read and write. Then, in early September, will follow a major trip, the longest of his pontificate, which will take him for eleven days to four countries in Asia.
