German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) receives a gift by German-born Pope Benedict XVI as they met at the Chancellery in Berlin on September 22, 2011, the first day of the Pontiff's 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 / POOL / CZAREK SOKOLOWSKI