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Pope Benedict XVI's former butler is set to go on trial in the Vatican on charges of aggravated theft, BBC reported.

Paolo Gabriele, 46, has admitted taking confidential documents and leaking them to the Italian media - although no guilty plea has been entered.

Mr Gabriele has told investigators that he was hoping to expose "evil and corruption" within the Church.

He is standing trial along with a Vatican technician, and faces up to four years in prison if found guilty.

Mr Gabriele was the Pope's trusted servant for years and held the keys to the papal apartments.

Many of the letters and other documents he took from the pontiff's desk were published in a book, His Holiness, by an Italian investigative journalist in May.

The so-called "Vatileaks" scandal has exposed alleged corruption and internal conflicts at the Holy See.

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says it has been one of the most difficult crises of Pope Benedict's seven-year papacy.

Mr Gabriele's co-defendant is computer technician Claudio Sciarpelletti, who is accused of aiding and abetting a crime.

No TV cameras or recorders are being allowed inside the courtroom. The proceedings will be reported by a pool of eight Vatican-accredited journalists.