Pope memorabilia
This visit includes souvenirs with a modern twist, JENNIFER
CORPORA reports
What's a papal visit without souvenirs? The faithful typically assume they'll be able to buy a Pope collectible to commemorate the event.
This year shouldn't disappoint them. The official keepsakes in New York
and New Jersey bear Pope John Paul II's face. They include a $25 light-up watch and a phone credit
card. Thirsty? Try a bottle of Holy Spring Water -- from God's springs (in
New Hampshire). Also, prices range from $1.50 for a bookmark to $125 for
a silver medallion.
"I'm sure there will be plenty of people trying to sell some souvenirs,"
said Fr. Leslie Ivers of the New York archdiocese. "You know, it's a free
country. People are free to choose to do what they want."
You won't find the ever-popular pope-on-a-rope soap, though, among the Church-sanctioned memorabilia. Only tasteful items, thank you.
Click to
hear more from Fr. IversThe archdioceses of New York and New Jersey approved about 25 papal products. Each archdiocese is to receive 20 percent of the proceeds to help pay for the visit to the metropolitan area, which is expected to cost more than $4 million. The Pope's last stop in the Big Apple, in 1979, cost the city about $3 million.
Mementos sold in Baltimore won't have the papal countenance on them. Using the Pope's face to sell goods is apparently too crass for the Baltimore archdiocese, which will pick up part of the expected $1 million tab from the visit there.
"We didn't feel it was an appropriate usage of the Holy Father's likeness," said Baltimore archdiocesan spokeswoman Elizabeth Ganzi.
Not everyone in Baltimore agrees. A roadside billboard advertisement for a local radio station shows the Pope listening to rock music through headphones. The slogan on the board reads: "Father Knows Best."
This certainly isn't the first time the Church has used the Pope to sell keepsakes; in fact, the Vatican has sold trinkets and pamphlets for years. In the past year, the pontiff 's book Crossing the Threshold of Hope became a worldwide bestseller, and audio recordings of him reciting the rosary were also released.
In some ways, the Vatican resembles a large corporation, complete with a financial statement. The Holy See has been in the black for the past two years. It had spent more than it took in from 1970 to 1992.
But the Roman Catholic Church has had its share of problems in the marketplace. Official souvenir vendors have complained that poor management of papal visits and cancellations have hurt them. An Ohio vendor and the Denver archdiocese are still squabbling in court over proceeds from the Pope's 1993 visit.
Meanwhile, this year's official vendor, Robbi Promotional Advertising,
Newark, NJ, nearly lost $300,000 when last year's papal visit was canceled,
said Ernie Ricca, Robbi's vice president. The company recouped some of its
losses when area churches helped sell between $200,000 and $250,000 worth
of items to parishioners.
But last year's mishap wasn't enough to keep Robbi Promotional from gambling again. The visit is bigger than a Rolling Stones concert and a New York Jets football game, for which the company has made and sold T-shirts, according to company president Robert Juliano-Villani. This year's sales could surpass the $3 million worth of goods sold during the 1993 Denver papal visit.
"I'm hoping to make $5 million in sales," Juliano-Villani said. "It's like the Super Bowl. The Pope is what sells."
Click to hear more from Juliano-VillaniAnd if Juliano-Villani prays for good health to keep the Holy Father on schedule, one of his papal rosaries -- a bargain at $2 -- may come in handy.
