File photo - Pope Benedict XVI made a surprise pre-Christmas visit to the jail holding his former butler Paolo Gabriele at the Vatican on December 22, 2012 and pardoned him in person for stealing and leaking documents that alleged corruption in the Holy See. The pope and Paolo Gabriele spent about 15 minutes together before Gabriele was freed and allowed to return to his family in their Vatican apartment. Paolo Gabriele, 54, the former butler of Benedict XVI, condemned by the Vatican court in 2012 but pardoned by Ratzinger a few months later, shortly before resigning, has died, it was announced today. Photo by ABACAPRESS.COM