Pope Benedict on 2-week vacation in northern Italy

(July 28, 2008) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday left for the Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy for his annual summer vacation. He returned to the town of Bressanone, in the province of Bolzano in the region of Trentino-Alto Adige for two weeks of vacation. He has vacationed in Bressanone more than 10 times over the course of his life, the first time being in 1967 as a priest. Pope Benedict will stay in the bishop’s apartment in the diocesan seminary, where a piano has been placed so that he can dedicate himself to one of his favourite activities. The Pope has scheduled only a few public appearances. He will meet local priests on August 6, and will lead the midday Sunday Angelus prayer on August 3 and 10. The German-born pope will be enjoying the company of his older brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, a priest and musician, who was a choir director at the cathedral of Regensburg, Germany. The vacation will also provide the Pope an opportunity to make progress on documents and books that he is writing. It is rumored that he will use the time to work on a third encyclical and the second part of his book, "Jesus of Nazareth." Pope Benedict ends his vacation on August 11 when he returns to his summer residence of Castelgandolfo, south of Rome, where he will resume his normal schedule.