Pope makes surprise excursions to Holy Trinity Shrine and Benedictine monasteries
Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV made a surprise visit to the Shrine of the Holy Trinity in Vallepietra on Wednesday morning, 22 July 2026, before continuing to Subiaco, where he visited the Monastery of St Benedict and the Monastery of St Scholastica.
Built into the rock of Mount Autore, the Shrine of the Holy Trinity is located on the border between central Italy's Lazio and Abruzzo regions.
According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office on Telegram, the Pope spent time in prayer before the revered Holy Trinity fresco inside the shrine and greeted the faithful and the religious community.
Pope Leo, who is taking a summer break at Castel Gandolfo, travelled by car to the shrine, which sits at an elevation of more than 1,800 metres in the Monti Simbruini. It is known as a place of pilgrimage, attracting thousands of faithful who climb the mountain trails on foot bearing banners at Pentecost and for the Feast of St Anne on 26 July.
The inner cave houses ancient frescoes, including a Byzantine image depicting the Holy Trinity as three identical figures of Christ. At the foot of the steps leading out of the shrine is the Chapel of St Anne, carved out of the living rock.
Monastery of St Benedict
Following his visit to Vallepietra, Pope Leo XIV travelled to Subiaco, where he visited the Monastery of St Benedict.
During his visit to the monastic complex, the Pope stopped for silent meditation before the 13th-century fresco of St Francis and, in the Sacred Cave of St Benedict, kissed the knee of the statue of the saint, keeping with tradition. He then recited the Our Father with those present.
The Monastery and its Shrine of the Sacred Cave have been considered one of the most significant places of Benedictine spirituality for almost a thousand years.
The cave is where the young Saint Benedict of Norcia lived as a hermit in the early 6th century following the example of the Desert Fathers. It was during that period of solitude in this wild place that Saint Benedict was able to bring to maturity the charism and the spirituality which would lead him to found the first monastic communities, sowing the seed of Western monasticism.
The Pope then went to the Monastery of St Scholastica, where he had lunch with the Benedictine community before visiting the cloisters and convent.
The Holy See Press Office said that at the time it issued its statement, the Pope was on his way back to Castel Gandolfo.
The Pope's Wednesday excursions follow his private visit on Monday, 20 July, to the Abbey of Montecassino, where he prayed for global peace.
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