Italian president first head of state to meet new Pope

Pope Benedict XVI met with the Italian president today in the first formal audience for a head of state since he was elected pontiff.

The 30-minute meeting with President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi took place in the papal library of the Apostolic Palace. The Vatican Swiss Guards, clad in colourful uniforms, stood to attention as the Italian President walked to the meeting with Benedict.

The Pope briefly greeted Ciampi and hundreds of other dignitaries who had attended his installation Mass in St. Peter’s Square on April 24.

Benedict, the former German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected to the pontificate on April 19 in one of the shortest conclaves in a century.