It was one of the smaller but no doubt keenly felt crosses that the
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had to bear when he held the office of the
successor of St Peter: he could no longer look after his beloved cats. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, it was well known that he took in and looked after stray cats in Rome's Borgo neighbourhood.
Now it seems that he could be reunited with his favoured animals.
Pictured near to the Pope Emeritus' new residence in the Vatican is a black-and-white spotted cat.
The cat was photographed by L'Osservatore Romano wandering around the area next to the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, which has been recently converted into Benedict's new home.
Veteran Vatican commentator John Thavis says that the Vatican Gardens are believed to have a number of stray cats roaming around them.
They will find a friend in the retired Pope.