Benedict has been living at the papal summer villa since he resigned Feb. 28, the first pope to step down in 600 years.
Guzan is the second American keeper to sign for Villa this summer, Brad Friedel having completed a move from Blackburn last week.
Taylor has reportedly been a target this summer for both Aston Villa and Everton, the latter particularly in the wake of the sale of Joleon Lescott to Manchester City.
O'Leary took over as Villa boss last summer and was told to cut the wage bill in half.
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In addition to holding an interest in Keane, Benitez has courted Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry this summer.
Ireland, who has failed to rediscover his best form since his move to Villa from Manchester City last summer, could make his debut at Fulham on Wednesday.
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Sullivan saved well from Gardner but he could only push the ball into the path of Sidwell, who poked in his fourth Villa goal since his move from Chelsea last summer.
Smith would be replaced by former Dutch National Team manager Dick Advocaat, only to re-emerge at Everton over the summer, while Celtic turned to one-time Aston Villa manager Dr Jozef Venglos.
But it became clear this summer that similar investment would not be forthcoming, with Lerner insisting that Villa - who face Rapid Vienna in the Europa League later this month - must now adopt a sell-to-buy policy.
He was a regular in his first season at Villa Park but slipped down the pecking order following the arrival of Stephen Warnock last summer.
During one particularly eventful summer in 1816, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley and John Polidori rented the Villa Diodati manor in Cologny, near Lake Geneva.
Liverpool, who have already sold Peter Crouch to Portsmouth this summer, are keen to free up transfer funds as they look to finalise a deal for Villa captain Gareth Barry and continue to chase Spurs striker Robbie Keane.
Lerner has also told Villa boss Martin O'Neill that he has money to spend in the transfer market this summer.
Villa have also added Stewart Downing, Fabian Delph, Habib Beye and Andy Marshall to their squad this summer.
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