Photographs: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters
Rediff.com takes you on a journey inside the world's smallest independent state and headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI leads the Angelus prayer from a window of his private apartment.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
A nun looks on as Pope Benedict XVI leads the Epiphany mass in Saint Peter Basilica at the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Tony Gentile/Reuters
A tourist takes a photograph from the balcony overlooking Saint Peter's square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
A priest walks as it snows in Saint Peter's Square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Alessandra Tarantino/Pool/Reuters
New Vatican Swiss Guards prepare for their swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Tony Gentile/Reuters
Chinese tourists smile as they stroll in Saint Peter's Square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Chris Helgren/Reuters
A couple view a 16th century fresco of Italy in the Vatican Museum's Gallery of Maps.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
A priest attends a mass led by Pope Benedict XVI to mark the second anniversary of the death of the late Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Osservatore Romano/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI greets participants of the first European Meeting of University Students at the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
A faithful prays as Pope Benedict XVI leads the Angelus prayer from the windows of his private apartments in Saint Peter's Square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Alessia Pierdomenico/Reuters
Nuns from Cameroon dance as they attend Pope Benedict XVI's weekly audience in St. Peter's Square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
Cardinals and bishops enter the Clementine Hall at the Vatican to get Pope Benedict XVI's Christmas wishes.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Giampiero Sposito/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI holds a candle as he leads the Easter Vigil service in Saint Peter's Basilica.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
Priests read the Book of the Gospels as they wait for the unveiling ceremony of the nativity scene in Saint Peter's Square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Gabriel Bouys/Pool/Reuters
A Swiss Guard stands during a private audience between Pope Benedict XVI and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan at the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Alessia Pierdomenico/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI blesses the faithful after leading a mass to commemorate cardinals and bishops who died this year, in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
A couple hugs during a heavy snowfall at Saint Peter's Square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI attends a Mass celebrating the 200th anniversary of the independence of Latin American countries at St. Peter's Basilica.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Osservatore Romano/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI baptises a baby during a mass in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters
A view of the hall where ancient and facsimiles books are displayed at the Braccio Carlo Magno, on the left-hand side of the colonnade in St. Peter square in the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Dario Pignatelli/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI waves from his car as he arrives in Saint Peter's square to visit the Nativity scene at the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters
The 33-metre-high Christmas tree, which came from the forest of southern Austria, is officially lit during a ceremony as it rains in St. Peter's Square, in front of Basilica.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
A statue is silhouetted through one of the fountains in Saint Peter's Square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Tony Gentile/Reuters
Pilgrims take pictures of Pope Benedict XVI as he arrives to lead his his weekly Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's Square.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Tony Gentile/Reuters
Tourists stroll through Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Alessia Pierdomenico/Reuters
Nuns pray during the annual 'Candelora', a feast of candles, mass in Saint Peter's Basilica.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he appears at the window of his private apartment following a ceremony for the unveiling of the Vatican crib.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Tony Gentile/Reuters
A man walks past a shop window displaying cardinals' dresses in downtown Rome. Pope Benedict will create 22 new red-hatted "princes of the church" in a consistory ceremony at the Vatican.
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Behind the walls of Vatican city
Photographs: Max Rossi/Reuters
The Vatican Christmas tree stands in the middle of Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican before a lighting up ceremony.
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