The Pope has pardoned his butler for stealing and leaking documents that alleged corruption in the Holy See.
Pope Benedict made a surprise pre-Christmas visit to the jail holding Paolo Gabriele, before the butler was allowed to return to his family.
The pope and former butler spent about 15 minutes together before Gabriele was freed and allowed to go home to his family in their Vatican apartment, a Vatican spokesman said.
Gabriele, 46, was convicted of aggravated theft on October 6 in a case that shone unwelcome publicity on the Vatican and had been serving an 18-month sentence in a jail cell in the city state's police headquarters.
