Pope Leo XIV has marked the 56th anniversary of man's arrival on the moon Sunday with a visit to the Vatican astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo and a call to astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called astronaut Buzz Aldrin and visited the Vatican’s astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo to mark the 56th anniversary of man’s first moon landing. “This evening, 56 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing,

Pope Leo XIV, who is spending two weeks on summer holiday at the papal estate in Castel Gandolfo, encouraged people in his Sunday homily to embrace the summer season as a time to deepen their relationship with God through silence,

Before concluding the audience, the Holy Father expressed his hope to meet the group again 'in a few months' for an 'ecumenical commemoration' to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

Almost 13 years have passed since a pope spent part of his summer at the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo, a hilltop town overlooking Lake Albano, just outside Rome. So, when Pope Leo XIV arrived at the Barberini Palace on Sunday (July 6),

Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of the moon landing with a visit to the Vatican Observatory. Accompanied by astronomers, he explored celestial studies and connected with astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Pope Leo XIV prayed the Angelus on Sunday, July 13, from Castel Gandolfo, where he is taking a two-week summer break.

It was the second time the two have met after exchanging greetings at the Vatican on May 18 in the context of the Mass inaugurating Pope Leo’s pontificate.