The shy 69-year-old Augustinian missionary has eschewed the headline-grabbing protagonism of past pontiffs in favor of a quieter, less showy and more reserved way of being pope.

For 400 years, most popes escaped the Roman summer in the hilltop town of Castel Gandolfo, Italy. Then Francis stopped going, leaving the town a bit bereft.

Overlooking Lake Albano on a hill south of Rome, Castel Gandolfo was for centuries a much-loved papal summer retreat — until Pope Francis renounced both the estate and summer holidays. Now the tiny town is reclaiming its vaunted status as a Vatican outpost,