FOR those either gearing themselves up to return to the office or factory after a summer break or rushing to clear their desks before going away, the Pope yesterday had a message: don’t work too hard, it’s bad for the spirit.

Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at his summer residence at Castelgandolfo in the Alban Hills south of Rome, said that his strictures against overwork applied even to himself.

Quoting from the writings of St Bernard of Clairvaux, the medieval saint, the pontiff said: “We have to guard ourselves, as St Bernard observed, against the dangers of excessive activity, regardless of the office one holds, because too many concerns can often lead to hardness of heart and suffering of the spirit.”

Instead, people should put aside time for “prayer and contemplation”, he said.

The pontiff added: “This warning is valid for every type of job, even those concerned with the government of the Church.” He noted that the saint had written to Pope Eugene III to warn him of the dangers of working too hard.

Much of Italy yesterday began the annual “re-entry” after the mid-August holiday of Ferragosto, with airports crowded and traffic hold-ups at motorway toll booths.

The 79-year-old Pope took a holiday in the Italian Alps in July before retreating to Castelgandolfo to escape the heat of Rome. He spent much of his mountain break, however, writing his next encyclical. He is to make a trip to his native Germany next month.

In an interview with German television this month, he said that because of his age he did not feel able to undertake many big journeys.

This is in contrast with his predecessor, John Paul II, known as the “Pilgrim Pope” for his global travels.

Pope Benedict said, however, that he would visit Brazil next year and hoped to go to the Holy Land “in a time of peace”.

He said that St Bernard had “put forward truths of the faith in a manner so clear and incisive that it fascinated the listener and prompted the soul to meditation and prayer . . . The echo of a rich inner experience, that he managed to communicate to others with amazing persuasive ability is found in each of his writings.”

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