While on holiday himself last week, Pope Benedict XVI extolled the necessity of a vacation for everyone in his first public appearance since he arrived at a mountain chalet in the Italian Alps. The Pope stated that holidays have become almost a necessity to recover from the hectic lives people lead, in which, especially for those who live in cities, the often frenetic conditions leave no space for silence and reflection. He also noted the need for people to be in contact with nature, “to rediscover themselves as creatures, small but at the same time unique.”