?Spiritual Exercises for the Roman Curia begin in Ariccia The geography of Elijah

On Sunday, 22 February, Pope Francis went
to to Ariccia to participate in spiritual exercises for Lent at the House of the Divin Maestro of the
Pauline Fathers. During the week, the Preacher, Carmelite Fr Bruno Secondin,
will present a pastoral reading of the
Prophet Elijah’s theme of “Servants and Prophets of the Living God”.

Aboard one of the two buses which left the
Vatican for Ariccia, the Pope arrived at the Residence at 4:40 pm. He was
welcomed by Archbishop Angelo Becciu,
Substitute of the Secretary of State;
Fr Leonardo Sapienza, Regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical
Household; Fr Valdir José De Castro, Superior General of the Society of St
Paul, along with the religious community of Ariccia.

Then at 6 pm Francis participated in
Eucharistic Adoration and the celebration of Vespers, listening to the
preacher’s introduction in which he reflected on the invitation “leave your own
‘village’”. The next day, 23 February, they focused on Elijah’s “school of
mercy” and following his example of leading a “life on the periphery”, after a
Eucharistic celebration on the theme: “Go East, hide yourself and return to
your roots”.