VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The prosecution in the trial of Pope Benedict's former butler on Saturday asked for a guilty verdict and a sentence of three years in jail.

The defense, for its part, asked the court to reduce the charges against Paolo Gabriele from "aggravated theft" to "misappropriation" and for him to be freed.

In his final appeal, Gabriele told the court in an impassive voice he acted exclusively out of deep, "visceral" love for the Roman Catholic Church and the pope he once served.

He spoke minutes before the court retired to consider its verdict.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella)