[NYer]

The smaller gifts were wrapped for Christmas, but the pope also was given a large crystal cross, a jewel-encrusted Book of the Gospels from the faithful of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, table linens, a wooden Nativity scene and several paintings, especially of Mary.

You can learn more about the fascinating history of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church at this LINK

Pope Benedict XVI greets bishops at the end of his weekly audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican December 14, 2005

[Claud]

You can learn more about the fascinating history of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church at this LINK

Just on a personal note, I happily found out recently that my mom's church (she grew up in an Albanian-speaking town in Italy) was up to about 1750 half-Byzantine and half-Latin. They recently found evidence of the original iconostasis.