VATICAN CITY, JAN. 6, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household announced that during the course of 2011, some 2,553,800 faithful participated in various meetings with Benedict XVI. This number includes general audiences (400,000), private audiences (101,800), liturgical celebrations (846,000), Angelus and Regina Coeli gatherings (1,206,000). These statistics, which show an increase with respect to the last three years, refer only to meetings that took place in the Vatican or Castel Gandolfo, and do not include the many thousands of faithful who came to see the Holy Father on his journeys in Italy or abroad. The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household explained that the numbers are approximate, calculated on the basis of requests to participate in meetings with the Pope and on the tickets distributed, as well as on estimations of people present at events such as the Angelus or large celebrations in St. Peter's Square. The single event whic...