{"id":18575,"date":"2017-03-03T16:01:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T16:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat-59763\/"},"modified":"2017-03-03T16:01:00","modified_gmt":"2017-03-03T16:01:00","slug":"pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis seeks silence, reflection on annual retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_visits_the_grotto_3_of_St_Peters_Basilica_to_pray_at_the_tombs_of_his_predecessors_Nov_2_2015_Credit_LOsservatore_Romano_CNA_11_2_15.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Vatican City, Mar 3, 2017 \/ 09:01 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia leave Sunday to begin their annual five-day retreat on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius; since 2014, held at the Casa Divin Maestro retreat house.<\/p>\n<p>Casa Divin Maestro, nestled away in the woods on Lake Albano, is just a short distance from the Papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo in the town of Ariccia, some 16 miles outside of Rome.<\/p>\n<p>One view from the retreat house encompasses the lake and the town of Castel Gandolfo; even the dome of St. Peter's Basilica is visible in the distance.<\/p>\n<p>The peace and serenity of the location reflects the mood Pope Francis wants to set for the entire retreat, Fr. Olinto Crespi told CNA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know that the Pope does not rotate much: room, chapel, dining room. He speaks very little, even at the table. There is always a background of music and he himself stays silent,\u201d he said. It is like \u201cthe real exercises of the school of St. Ignatius.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Head of the household at Casa Divin Maestro, Fr. Crespi is one of five Pauline priests acting as \u201chosts\u201d of the Holy Father and the Curia during the retreat. They are all \u201cnew\u201d he said, so it will be the first time for all of them hosting the Holy Father.<\/p>\n<p>The practice of the Pope going on retreat with the heads of Vatican dicasteries each Lent began some 80 years ago under Pope Paul XI. The spiritual exercises were held in the Vatican, but beginning in Lent 2014, Pope Francis chose to hold the retreat outside of Rome.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoing the exercises in the Vatican, at the time the meditation was given, each prelate went into his office. Therefore the Jesuit Pope wanted the exercises to be made in an atmosphere of recollection and prayer and they will do only the exercises,\u201d Fr. Crespi said.<\/p>\n<p>The five-day long retreat will include preaching on the Gospel of Matthew by Franciscan Fr. Giulio Michelini, selected by the Pope to preach for the occasion.<\/p>\n<p>A typical day during the retreat begins with Mass followed by breakfast, Fr. Crespi said. They will then return to the chapel for the preaching by Fr. Michelini. After lunch they return to the chapel.<\/p>\n<p>While many other groups that hold events at the house will gather in the auditorium, Fr. Crespi said that Pope Francis \u201cwants to be alone in the chapel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd this says further the climate that Francis wants to create,\u201d he said. Even the Pauline Fathers of the retreat house \u201care asked not to disturb.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The house has a good telephone line and good Wi-Fi, Fr. Crespi said, so there may be some time for cardinals to do a little work during the week if needed, but \u201cthe Pope himself sees very little. He is very reserved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before Francis began going to Casa Divin Maestro for his annual spiritual exercises, the house was not unknown in the Vatican or to cardinals. Fr. Crespi believes that either the Pope heard of the place through word of mouth or perhaps he had even been there himself while still a cardinal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven the Swiss Guards were here for a retreat,\u201d he said. They would go on runs in the woods in the early mornings, which, he joked, \u201ccertainly the cardinals do not do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=AlAKQySAjRA:GwOYf9EDUgo:yIl2AUoC8zA\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/AlAKQySAjRA\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_visits_the_grotto_3_of_St_Peters_Basilica_to_pray_at_the_tombs_of_his_predecessors_Nov_2_2015_Credit_LOsservatore_Romano_CNA_11_2_15.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Vatican City, Mar 3, 2017 \/ 09:01 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" target=\"_self\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia leave Sunday to begin their annual five-day retreat on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius; since 2014, held at the Casa Divin Maestro retreat house.<\/p>\n<p>Casa Divin Maestro, nestled away in the woods on Lake Albano, is just a short distance from the Papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo in the town of Ariccia, some 16 miles outside of Rome.<\/p>\n<p>One view from the retreat house encompasses the lake and the town of Castel Gandolfo; even the dome of St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica is visible in the distance.<\/p>\n<p>The peace and serenity of the location reflects the mood Pope Francis wants to set for the entire retreat, Fr. Olinto Crespi told CNA.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We know that the Pope does not rotate much: room, chapel, dining room. He speaks very little, even at the table. There is always a background of music and he himself stays silent,&rdquo; he said. It is like &ldquo;the real exercises of the school of St. Ignatius.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Head of the household at Casa Divin Maestro, Fr. Crespi is one of five Pauline priests acting as &ldquo;hosts&rdquo; of the Holy Father and the Curia during the retreat. They are all &ldquo;new&rdquo; he said, so it will be the first time for all of them hosting the Holy Father.<\/p>\n<p>The practice of the Pope going on retreat with the heads of Vatican dicasteries each Lent began some 80 years ago under Pope Paul XI. The spiritual exercises were held in the Vatican, but beginning in Lent 2014, Pope Francis chose to hold the retreat outside of Rome.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Doing the exercises in the Vatican, at the time the meditation was given, each prelate went into his office. Therefore the Jesuit Pope wanted the exercises to be made in an atmosphere of recollection and prayer and they will do only the exercises,&rdquo; Fr. Crespi said.<\/p>\n<p>The five-day long retreat will include preaching on the Gospel of Matthew by Franciscan Fr. Giulio Michelini, selected by the Pope to preach for the occasion.<\/p>\n<p>A typical day during the retreat begins with Mass followed by breakfast, Fr. Crespi said. They will then return to the chapel for the preaching by Fr. Michelini. After lunch they return to the chapel.<\/p>\n<p>While many other groups that hold events at the house will gather in the auditorium, Fr. Crespi said that Pope Francis &ldquo;wants to be alone in the chapel.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And this says further the climate that Francis wants to create,&rdquo; he said. Even the Pauline Fathers of the retreat house &ldquo;are asked not to disturb.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The house has a good telephone line and good Wi-Fi, Fr. Crespi said, so there may be some time for cardinals to do a little work during the week if needed, but &ldquo;the Pope himself sees very little. He is very reserved.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Before Francis began going to Casa Divin Maestro for his annual spiritual exercises, the house was not unknown in the Vatican or to cardinals. Fr. Crespi believes that either the Pope heard of the place through word of mouth or perhaps he had even been there himself while still a cardinal.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Even the Swiss Guards were here for a retreat,&rdquo; he said. They would go on runs in the woods in the early mornings, which, he joked, &ldquo;certainly the cardinals do not do.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=AlAKQySAjRA:GwOYf9EDUgo:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/AlAKQySAjRA\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pope Francis seeks silence, reflection on annual retreat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Mar 3, 2017 \/ 09:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia leave Sunday to begin their annual five-day retreat on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius; since 2014, held at the Casa Divin Maestro retreat house. Casa Divin Maestro, nestled away in the woods on Lake Albano, is just a short distance from the Papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo in the town of Ariccia, some 16 miles outside of Rome. One view from the retreat house encompasses the lake and the town of Castel Gandolfo; even the dome of St. Peter&#039;s Basilica is visible in the distance. The peace and serenity of the location reflects the mood Pope Francis wants to set for the entire retreat, Fr. Olinto Crespi told CNA. &ldquo;We know that the Pope does not rotate much: room, chapel, dining room. He speaks very little, even at the table. There is always a background of music and he himself stays silent,&rdquo; he said. It is like &ldquo;the real exercises of the school of St. Ignatius.&rdquo; Head of the household at Casa Divin Maestro, Fr. Crespi is one of five Pauline priests acting as &ldquo;hosts&rdquo; of the Holy Father and the Curia during the retreat. They are all &ldquo;new&rdquo; he said, so it will be the first time for all of them hosting the Holy Father. The practice of the Pope going on retreat with the heads of Vatican dicasteries each Lent began some 80 years ago under Pope Paul XI. The spiritual exercises were held in the Vatican, but beginning in Lent 2014, Pope Francis chose to hold the retreat outside of Rome. &ldquo;Doing the exercises in the Vatican, at the time the meditation was given, each prelate went into his office. Therefore the Jesuit Pope wanted the exercises to be made in an atmosphere of recollection and prayer and they will do only the exercises,&rdquo; Fr. Crespi said. The five-day long retreat will include preaching on the Gospel of Matthew by Franciscan Fr. Giulio Michelini, selected by the Pope to preach for the occasion. A typical day during the retreat begins with Mass followed by breakfast, Fr. Crespi said. They will then return to the chapel for the preaching by Fr. Michelini. After lunch they return to the chapel. While many other groups that hold events at the house will gather in the auditorium, Fr. Crespi said that Pope Francis &ldquo;wants to be alone in the chapel.&rdquo; &ldquo;And this says further the climate that Francis wants to create,&rdquo; he said. Even the Pauline Fathers of the retreat house &ldquo;are asked not to disturb.&rdquo; The house has a good telephone line and good Wi-Fi, Fr. Crespi said, so there may be some time for cardinals to do a little work during the week if needed, but &ldquo;the Pope himself sees very little. He is very reserved.&rdquo; Before Francis began going to Casa Divin Maestro for his annual spiritual exercises, the house was not unknown in the Vatican or to cardinals. Fr. Crespi believes that either the Pope heard of the place through word of mouth or perhaps he had even been there himself while still a cardinal. &ldquo;Even the Swiss Guards were here for a retreat,&rdquo; he said. They would go on runs in the woods in the early mornings, which, he joked, &ldquo;certainly the cardinals do not do.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope Francis seeks silence, reflection on annual retreat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vatican City, Mar 3, 2017 \/ 09:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia leave Sunday to begin their annual five-day retreat on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius; since 2014, held at the Casa Divin Maestro retreat house. Casa Divin Maestro, nestled away in the woods on Lake Albano, is just a short distance from the Papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo in the town of Ariccia, some 16 miles outside of Rome. One view from the retreat house encompasses the lake and the town of Castel Gandolfo; even the dome of St. Peter&#039;s Basilica is visible in the distance. The peace and serenity of the location reflects the mood Pope Francis wants to set for the entire retreat, Fr. Olinto Crespi told CNA. &ldquo;We know that the Pope does not rotate much: room, chapel, dining room. He speaks very little, even at the table. There is always a background of music and he himself stays silent,&rdquo; he said. It is like &ldquo;the real exercises of the school of St. Ignatius.&rdquo; Head of the household at Casa Divin Maestro, Fr. Crespi is one of five Pauline priests acting as &ldquo;hosts&rdquo; of the Holy Father and the Curia during the retreat. They are all &ldquo;new&rdquo; he said, so it will be the first time for all of them hosting the Holy Father. The practice of the Pope going on retreat with the heads of Vatican dicasteries each Lent began some 80 years ago under Pope Paul XI. The spiritual exercises were held in the Vatican, but beginning in Lent 2014, Pope Francis chose to hold the retreat outside of Rome. &ldquo;Doing the exercises in the Vatican, at the time the meditation was given, each prelate went into his office. Therefore the Jesuit Pope wanted the exercises to be made in an atmosphere of recollection and prayer and they will do only the exercises,&rdquo; Fr. Crespi said. The five-day long retreat will include preaching on the Gospel of Matthew by Franciscan Fr. Giulio Michelini, selected by the Pope to preach for the occasion. A typical day during the retreat begins with Mass followed by breakfast, Fr. Crespi said. They will then return to the chapel for the preaching by Fr. Michelini. After lunch they return to the chapel. While many other groups that hold events at the house will gather in the auditorium, Fr. Crespi said that Pope Francis &ldquo;wants to be alone in the chapel.&rdquo; &ldquo;And this says further the climate that Francis wants to create,&rdquo; he said. Even the Pauline Fathers of the retreat house &ldquo;are asked not to disturb.&rdquo; The house has a good telephone line and good Wi-Fi, Fr. Crespi said, so there may be some time for cardinals to do a little work during the week if needed, but &ldquo;the Pope himself sees very little. He is very reserved.&rdquo; Before Francis began going to Casa Divin Maestro for his annual spiritual exercises, the house was not unknown in the Vatican or to cardinals. Fr. Crespi believes that either the Pope heard of the place through word of mouth or perhaps he had even been there himself while still a cardinal. &ldquo;Even the Swiss Guards were here for a retreat,&rdquo; he said. They would go on runs in the woods in the early mornings, which, he joked, &ldquo;certainly the cardinals do not do.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-03T16:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_visits_the_grotto_3_of_St_Peters_Basilica_to_pray_at_the_tombs_of_his_predecessors_Nov_2_2015_Credit_LOsservatore_Romano_CNA_11_2_15.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/\",\"name\":\"Pope Francis seeks silence, reflection on annual retreat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-03T16:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-03T16:01:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Vatican City, Mar 3, 2017 \/ 09:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia leave Sunday to begin their annual five-day retreat on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius; since 2014, held at the Casa Divin Maestro retreat house. Casa Divin Maestro, nestled away in the woods on Lake Albano, is just a short distance from the Papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo in the town of Ariccia, some 16 miles outside of Rome. One view from the retreat house encompasses the lake and the town of Castel Gandolfo; even the dome of St. Peter's Basilica is visible in the distance. The peace and serenity of the location reflects the mood Pope Francis wants to set for the entire retreat, Fr. Olinto Crespi told CNA. &ldquo;We know that the Pope does not rotate much: room, chapel, dining room. He speaks very little, even at the table. There is always a background of music and he himself stays silent,&rdquo; he said. It is like &ldquo;the real exercises of the school of St. Ignatius.&rdquo; Head of the household at Casa Divin Maestro, Fr. Crespi is one of five Pauline priests acting as &ldquo;hosts&rdquo; of the Holy Father and the Curia during the retreat. They are all &ldquo;new&rdquo; he said, so it will be the first time for all of them hosting the Holy Father. The practice of the Pope going on retreat with the heads of Vatican dicasteries each Lent began some 80 years ago under Pope Paul XI. The spiritual exercises were held in the Vatican, but beginning in Lent 2014, Pope Francis chose to hold the retreat outside of Rome. &ldquo;Doing the exercises in the Vatican, at the time the meditation was given, each prelate went into his office. Therefore the Jesuit Pope wanted the exercises to be made in an atmosphere of recollection and prayer and they will do only the exercises,&rdquo; Fr. Crespi said. The five-day long retreat will include preaching on the Gospel of Matthew by Franciscan Fr. Giulio Michelini, selected by the Pope to preach for the occasion. A typical day during the retreat begins with Mass followed by breakfast, Fr. Crespi said. They will then return to the chapel for the preaching by Fr. Michelini. After lunch they return to the chapel. While many other groups that hold events at the house will gather in the auditorium, Fr. Crespi said that Pope Francis &ldquo;wants to be alone in the chapel.&rdquo; &ldquo;And this says further the climate that Francis wants to create,&rdquo; he said. Even the Pauline Fathers of the retreat house &ldquo;are asked not to disturb.&rdquo; The house has a good telephone line and good Wi-Fi, Fr. Crespi said, so there may be some time for cardinals to do a little work during the week if needed, but &ldquo;the Pope himself sees very little. He is very reserved.&rdquo; Before Francis began going to Casa Divin Maestro for his annual spiritual exercises, the house was not unknown in the Vatican or to cardinals. Fr. Crespi believes that either the Pope heard of the place through word of mouth or perhaps he had even been there himself while still a cardinal. &ldquo;Even the Swiss Guards were here for a retreat,&rdquo; he said. 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Casa Divin Maestro, nestled away in the woods on Lake Albano, is just a short distance from the Papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo in the town of Ariccia, some 16 miles outside of Rome. One view from the retreat house encompasses the lake and the town of Castel Gandolfo; even the dome of St. Peter's Basilica is visible in the distance. The peace and serenity of the location reflects the mood Pope Francis wants to set for the entire retreat, Fr. Olinto Crespi told CNA. &ldquo;We know that the Pope does not rotate much: room, chapel, dining room. He speaks very little, even at the table. There is always a background of music and he himself stays silent,&rdquo; he said. It is like &ldquo;the real exercises of the school of St. Ignatius.&rdquo; Head of the household at Casa Divin Maestro, Fr. Crespi is one of five Pauline priests acting as &ldquo;hosts&rdquo; of the Holy Father and the Curia during the retreat. They are all &ldquo;new&rdquo; he said, so it will be the first time for all of them hosting the Holy Father. The practice of the Pope going on retreat with the heads of Vatican dicasteries each Lent began some 80 years ago under Pope Paul XI. The spiritual exercises were held in the Vatican, but beginning in Lent 2014, Pope Francis chose to hold the retreat outside of Rome. &ldquo;Doing the exercises in the Vatican, at the time the meditation was given, each prelate went into his office. Therefore the Jesuit Pope wanted the exercises to be made in an atmosphere of recollection and prayer and they will do only the exercises,&rdquo; Fr. Crespi said. The five-day long retreat will include preaching on the Gospel of Matthew by Franciscan Fr. Giulio Michelini, selected by the Pope to preach for the occasion. A typical day during the retreat begins with Mass followed by breakfast, Fr. Crespi said. They will then return to the chapel for the preaching by Fr. Michelini. After lunch they return to the chapel. While many other groups that hold events at the house will gather in the auditorium, Fr. Crespi said that Pope Francis &ldquo;wants to be alone in the chapel.&rdquo; &ldquo;And this says further the climate that Francis wants to create,&rdquo; he said. Even the Pauline Fathers of the retreat house &ldquo;are asked not to disturb.&rdquo; The house has a good telephone line and good Wi-Fi, Fr. Crespi said, so there may be some time for cardinals to do a little work during the week if needed, but &ldquo;the Pope himself sees very little. He is very reserved.&rdquo; Before Francis began going to Casa Divin Maestro for his annual spiritual exercises, the house was not unknown in the Vatican or to cardinals. Fr. Crespi believes that either the Pope heard of the place through word of mouth or perhaps he had even been there himself while still a cardinal. &ldquo;Even the Swiss Guards were here for a retreat,&rdquo; he said. They would go on runs in the woods in the early mornings, which, he joked, &ldquo;certainly the cardinals do not do.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pope Francis seeks silence, reflection on annual retreat","og_description":"Vatican City, Mar 3, 2017 \/ 09:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia leave Sunday to begin their annual five-day retreat on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius; since 2014, held at the Casa Divin Maestro retreat house. Casa Divin Maestro, nestled away in the woods on Lake Albano, is just a short distance from the Papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo in the town of Ariccia, some 16 miles outside of Rome. One view from the retreat house encompasses the lake and the town of Castel Gandolfo; even the dome of St. Peter's Basilica is visible in the distance. The peace and serenity of the location reflects the mood Pope Francis wants to set for the entire retreat, Fr. Olinto Crespi told CNA. &ldquo;We know that the Pope does not rotate much: room, chapel, dining room. He speaks very little, even at the table. There is always a background of music and he himself stays silent,&rdquo; he said. It is like &ldquo;the real exercises of the school of St. Ignatius.&rdquo; Head of the household at Casa Divin Maestro, Fr. Crespi is one of five Pauline priests acting as &ldquo;hosts&rdquo; of the Holy Father and the Curia during the retreat. They are all &ldquo;new&rdquo; he said, so it will be the first time for all of them hosting the Holy Father. The practice of the Pope going on retreat with the heads of Vatican dicasteries each Lent began some 80 years ago under Pope Paul XI. The spiritual exercises were held in the Vatican, but beginning in Lent 2014, Pope Francis chose to hold the retreat outside of Rome. &ldquo;Doing the exercises in the Vatican, at the time the meditation was given, each prelate went into his office. Therefore the Jesuit Pope wanted the exercises to be made in an atmosphere of recollection and prayer and they will do only the exercises,&rdquo; Fr. Crespi said. The five-day long retreat will include preaching on the Gospel of Matthew by Franciscan Fr. Giulio Michelini, selected by the Pope to preach for the occasion. A typical day during the retreat begins with Mass followed by breakfast, Fr. Crespi said. They will then return to the chapel for the preaching by Fr. Michelini. After lunch they return to the chapel. While many other groups that hold events at the house will gather in the auditorium, Fr. Crespi said that Pope Francis &ldquo;wants to be alone in the chapel.&rdquo; &ldquo;And this says further the climate that Francis wants to create,&rdquo; he said. Even the Pauline Fathers of the retreat house &ldquo;are asked not to disturb.&rdquo; The house has a good telephone line and good Wi-Fi, Fr. Crespi said, so there may be some time for cardinals to do a little work during the week if needed, but &ldquo;the Pope himself sees very little. He is very reserved.&rdquo; Before Francis began going to Casa Divin Maestro for his annual spiritual exercises, the house was not unknown in the Vatican or to cardinals. Fr. Crespi believes that either the Pope heard of the place through word of mouth or perhaps he had even been there himself while still a cardinal. &ldquo;Even the Swiss Guards were here for a retreat,&rdquo; he said. They would go on runs in the woods in the early mornings, which, he joked, &ldquo;certainly the cardinals do not do.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2017-03-03T16:01:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_visits_the_grotto_3_of_St_Peters_Basilica_to_pray_at_the_tombs_of_his_predecessors_Nov_2_2015_Credit_LOsservatore_Romano_CNA_11_2_15.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/","name":"Pope Francis seeks silence, reflection on annual retreat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-03-03T16:01:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-03-03T16:01:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Vatican City, Mar 3, 2017 \/ 09:01 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis and members of the Roman Curia leave Sunday to begin their annual five-day retreat on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius; since 2014, held at the Casa Divin Maestro retreat house. Casa Divin Maestro, nestled away in the woods on Lake Albano, is just a short distance from the Papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo in the town of Ariccia, some 16 miles outside of Rome. One view from the retreat house encompasses the lake and the town of Castel Gandolfo; even the dome of St. Peter's Basilica is visible in the distance. The peace and serenity of the location reflects the mood Pope Francis wants to set for the entire retreat, Fr. Olinto Crespi told CNA. &ldquo;We know that the Pope does not rotate much: room, chapel, dining room. He speaks very little, even at the table. There is always a background of music and he himself stays silent,&rdquo; he said. It is like &ldquo;the real exercises of the school of St. Ignatius.&rdquo; Head of the household at Casa Divin Maestro, Fr. Crespi is one of five Pauline priests acting as &ldquo;hosts&rdquo; of the Holy Father and the Curia during the retreat. They are all &ldquo;new&rdquo; he said, so it will be the first time for all of them hosting the Holy Father. The practice of the Pope going on retreat with the heads of Vatican dicasteries each Lent began some 80 years ago under Pope Paul XI. The spiritual exercises were held in the Vatican, but beginning in Lent 2014, Pope Francis chose to hold the retreat outside of Rome. &ldquo;Doing the exercises in the Vatican, at the time the meditation was given, each prelate went into his office. Therefore the Jesuit Pope wanted the exercises to be made in an atmosphere of recollection and prayer and they will do only the exercises,&rdquo; Fr. Crespi said. The five-day long retreat will include preaching on the Gospel of Matthew by Franciscan Fr. Giulio Michelini, selected by the Pope to preach for the occasion. A typical day during the retreat begins with Mass followed by breakfast, Fr. Crespi said. They will then return to the chapel for the preaching by Fr. Michelini. After lunch they return to the chapel. While many other groups that hold events at the house will gather in the auditorium, Fr. Crespi said that Pope Francis &ldquo;wants to be alone in the chapel.&rdquo; &ldquo;And this says further the climate that Francis wants to create,&rdquo; he said. Even the Pauline Fathers of the retreat house &ldquo;are asked not to disturb.&rdquo; The house has a good telephone line and good Wi-Fi, Fr. Crespi said, so there may be some time for cardinals to do a little work during the week if needed, but &ldquo;the Pope himself sees very little. He is very reserved.&rdquo; Before Francis began going to Casa Divin Maestro for his annual spiritual exercises, the house was not unknown in the Vatican or to cardinals. Fr. Crespi believes that either the Pope heard of the place through word of mouth or perhaps he had even been there himself while still a cardinal. &ldquo;Even the Swiss Guards were here for a retreat,&rdquo; he said. They would go on runs in the woods in the early mornings, which, he joked, &ldquo;certainly the cardinals do not do.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/03\/pope-francis-seeks-silence-reflection-on-annual-retreat\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pope Francis seeks silence, reflection on annual retreat"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18575\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}