Pope Francis forgoes summer holiday

He has given up the papal palace and renounced the red shoes. Now Pope Francis has made arguably his biggest sacrifice yet: he won't be going away for a summer holiday.

The Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said that, unlike his predecessors, the Argentinian pontiff would not be spending significant periods of time away from his modest home at the Vatican's Domus Santa Marta guest house during July and August.

While his predecessors made a habit of escaping the usually stifling summer conditions in Vatican City for the cool air of Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, Francis is expected to only visit the pontifical estate once in July to celebrate a mass.

With its villas and working farm, the peaceful hilltop town was the destination that emeritus pope Benedict XVI initially chose to retreat to when he resigned from the papacy in February. He has now returned to the Vatican, where he is living in quiet seclusion in a converted monastery.

Despite Francis's decision to stay closer to home – which Lombardi said echoed his preferences as archbishop of Buenos Aires – the pope will be relaxing his schedule over the summer.

In a statement, the Vatican said there would be no general audiences on a Wednesday during July. But much of that month is likely to be spent in preparation for his first foreign trip as pontiff, which, fittingly enough for the Roman Catholic church's first Latin American head, will be a week-long visit to Brazil for World Youth Day 2013.