Credit: VINCENZO PINTO / AFP via Getty Images
(CNN) -
Pope Francis will travel out of Rome next month, the first time he has left the Italian capital since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Vatican said in a statement Saturday.
The pope will go to the Italian city of Assisi on October 3 to sign a new encyclical, a letter traditionally addressed from St. Peter's Square to the more than one billion Catholics around the world.
Derived from the Greek word "circle," an encyclical is among the most authoritative teaching documents of the church.
Credit: VINCENZO PINTO / AFP via Getty Images
This encyclical, entitled "All Brothers," will deal with brotherhood and social friendship.
The Pope plans to return to the Vatican after celebrating Mass and signing the encyclical.
"Due to the health situation, it is the wish of the Holy Father that the visit be carried out privately, without the participation of the faithful," the Vatican said.