Papal pinup? Italian magazine to publish calendar of pope

He already has been spotted as a fashion follower, from his signature shades and shoes, to his ermine trimmed velvet robes, but now Pope Benedict XVI is trying his hand at modelling for a 2007 calendar to come out later this month.



''Together, a year with the pope,'' said the Italian Catholic weekly Famiglia Cristiana in announcing the calendar. The calendar features 14 original poses of the 79-year-old pontiff taken during an entire day of shooting this summer at Castel Gandolfo, the pope's country residence near Rome.

While many VIP calendars feature celebrities in scanty attire, the papal version is as chaste as it is charitable. Proceeds from the photos of the pope dressed in his white cassock and skull cap, will go to a mission in Rwanda.