Every year, at the beginning of Lent, the pope leaves Rome for a few days to do spiritual exercises in Ariccia, a small town located on the outskirts of the Eternal City.
The responsible people from the Curia will accompany him. Previously, these spiritual exercises were completed inside the Vatican, but it was difficult for those on the retreat to devote themselves entirely to prayer.
The priest in charge of delivering the reflections is José Tolentino de Mendonça, vice chancellor of the Catholic University of Portugal.
Since Pope Francis will not be in Rome, there will be no public hearings or private meetings. The pope will return on Friday, the 23rd, when he has called a day of fasting and prayer for peace, especially for South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
