Politicians including German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) wear rain gear as rain falls at the Olympic stadium in Berlin on September 22, 2011, where Pope Benedict XVI will give a mass on the first day of his first state visit to his native Germany. The 84-year old pope, German born Joseph Ratzinger, has a packed program, with 18 sermons and speeches planned for his four-day trip to Berlin, Erfurt in the ex-German Democratic Republic and Freiburg. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI