Heavenly hype
The Vatican benefits from the brisk sales of Pope paraphernalia. Official souvenirs help fund the papal visit, reports Jennifer Corpora.
Meanwhile, a brisk business was going on nearby in $15 white plastic rosaries
and $40 sweatshirts under the first sunny skies of the Holy Father's visit.
A night earlier, even driving rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm
of the customers. At Giants Stadium, many concessions sold out of rosaries
two hours before the Pope arrived.
The seven members of the Calasurdo family spent $176 on tapes, T-shirts,
calendars and a couple of hats. "The money was worth it for the memory of
a once-in-a-lifetime event," said Bernard Calasurdo, who planned to take
presents to his parents.
"Most people are buying at least five items," said Warren Mowle,
a salesman at Giants Stadium. "People are coming up and buying like seven,
sometimes 10, rosaries at a time."
Other keepsakes include a light-up watch with the Pope's face, a phone
credit card and a bottle of Holy Spring Water
Security was so tight that few bootleggers were in sight, even in New
York, where fake Rolex watches are sold on many street corners.
Mementos sold at the Pope's next stop 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 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.
"I'm hoping to make $5 million in sales," said Robbi's president,
Robert Juliano-Villani. "It's like the Super Bowl. The Pope is what sells."
Pope John Paul II
condemned "extravagant affluence" Friday during a mass
at the horse track at Aqueduct Raceway, New York,
urging the faithful not to lose sight of those who struggle
in poverty.
-- from God's springs (in New
Hampshire). All of these items are authorized by the archdioceses of
New York and New Jersey and screened for tastefulness. They will receive
20 percent of the proceeds to help pay for the Pope's visit to their area,
which is expected to cost more than $4 million.
But this year's official vendor, Robbi Promotional Advertising, was more
than willing to take the risk.
