Rome - Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Rome Monday evening following a three-day trip to the Czech Republic. Benedict landed at the city's Ciampino airport and was scheduled to proceed to the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, in the hills south of the Italian capital, the ANSA news agency reported.
On his final day in the Czech Republic, the 82-year-old pontiff cited the martyrdom of St Wenceslas, the country's patron saint, to demonstrate the continuing relevance of faith in a secular society.
In the year that marks two decades since the fall of atheist Communist regimes that stifled religion, the pope chose to visit the Central European country of 10.4 million where non-believers greatly outnumber churchgoers.
During his visit, the pontiff was warmly received by President Vaclav Klaus, who had previously expressed anti-Church positions.
However, the papal tour also highlighted a number of sore points between the Church and the state, including Prague's failure to ratify a bilateral treaty with the Vatican and to agree on a compensation scheme for church property seized by the Communists.
