The feast day is particularly dear to the people of Castel Gandolfo and Pope Leo will be the first pope in history to take to the waters!
A historic procession takes place on the lake that gives the summer papal villa its gorgeous scenery, and this afternoon, Pope Leo will take part in it, the first pope in history to do so.
The procession celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of the Lake in Castel Gandolfo, crossing the waters that have provided the backdrop to the summer residence of the popes for the past 400 years.
Pope Leo will preside over a 6 pm Mass at the church named for her -- Maria Santissima del Lago, consecrated by Pope Saint Paul VI on August 15, 1977 -- and then begin the procession, leaving the small church and carrying the statue of Our Lady of the Lake in procession along the road to the shoreline, where the statue will be placed on a boat and the Pope will also board the vessel.
You can follow the Mass and procession at the Vatican website here, beginning at noon Eastern.
Vatican News gives further details:
The Feast of Our Lady of the Lake is deeply cherished by the people of Castel Gandolfo, although its history is relatively recent. It began during the Marian Year of 1954 at the initiative of the parish priest at the time, Father Dino Sella, with the aim of involving all those who worked around the lake.
The church was built 23 years later. In addition to Pope Saint Paul VI, who consecrated it 49 years ago, the Church of Maria Santissima del Lago was also visited by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1979. Both Popes took part in the procession, although neither travelled along the section on the water. ...
This year’s celebration takes place as part of thanksgiving festivities marking 400 years of the popes’ presence in Castel Gandolfo, beginning with Urban VIII in 1626.
“With the Pope’s presence, this thanksgiving takes on a particularly powerful meaning,” parish priest Father Tadeusz Rozmus told Vatican Media.
“His presence, in my view, is also an appreciation of the gift of creation. Here in Castel Gandolfo, creation is represented by this beautiful lake, surrounded by these mountains, by the beauty of nature. It is a way of giving thanks, of savoring and breathing in that beauty.”
“When Pope Saint Paul VI inaugurated the Church of Our Lady of the Lake,” the parish priest explained, “his intention was that it should be a church that ‘breathes the lake,’ because the Church represents the boat of Saint Peter and invites us to give thanks—to be grateful for what we have. And here in Castel Gandolfo, above all, we have this beauty, which is the lake itself.”
