A man on wheel-chair holds a puppet representing Pope Benedict XVI as he waits in front of the Cathedral in Erfurt, eastern Germany, before his mass on September 24, 2011, on the third 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 / ALBERTO PIZZOLI