Holy tchotchkes: Rome is awash with papal souvenirs
You can find this Pope Francis snowball souvenir in Rome. — Photos: AP
Like all major tourist destinations, Rome is awash in souvenirs. With Holy Year Catholic pilgrims, Pope Francis' funeral and the buzz surrounding the conclave to elect his successor, the most popular tchotchkes these days are those about the papacy.
There are books, booklets and prayer cards of the last three popes and others dating back to the mid-20th century. Their images also appear in snow globes, bobblehead dolls and, in Francis' case, even in nail clippers, bottle openers and key chains.
Among the most popular, and cheapest, are rosaries, which the faithful prayed in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City for many nights while Francis was hospitalised in February and March. He died on April 21 at age 88.
The often uneasy combination of worship and social-media-fuelled blockbuster tourism is a growing concern across Europe.
With the choice of the next leader of the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic church now hanging in the balance, it's no wonder that even solemn moments like the funeral are becoming collectible experiences.
Hardly a person lining up along Francis' route from funeral Mass to burial last Saturday (May 3) wasn't holding a smartphone to record the moment.
And on the arms of many hung shopping bags with small plastic rosaries, papal pendants and even a mini "popemobile' reproduction. – AP
A Pope Francis-themed souvenir watch.
A religious souvenir, most likely a bottle of Holy Water, depicting Pope Francis on the front.
A scale car of the 'popemobile' in Rome is also on sale.
A pack of pencils with the image of Pope Francis.
A card featuring an artwork of the late Pope Francis being sold as a souvenir.
A fridge magnet featuring an image of Pope Paul VI, who died in 1978, can be found in souvenir shops in Rome.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
5 days ago
- The Star
Petal power in the High Atlas
Winners of the Miss Rose beauty pageant joining a parade during the annual Rose Festival in Kalaat M'Gouna. The small town in the High Atlas mountains comes to life each year during the International Rose Festival, now in its 60th year. — AP GLOVED and armed with shears, women weave through thorny brambles, clipping and tossing their harvest into wheelbarrows. 'Thank God for the rain,' said rose picker Fatima El Alami. 'There are roses elsewhere, but there's nowhere like here.' She's right. Mild temperatures, steady sunlight and low humidity make the fields around Kalaat M'Gouna in Morocco a perfect cradle for growing its signature flower: the Damask rose. Abundant precipitation and several desert downpours this year have bestowed Morocco with an exceptional yield of the flower, used for rosewater and rose oil. Pink and pungent, the roses are set to come in at 4,800 tonnes this year, a bloom far beyond the 2020-2023 average, according to the Regional Office for Agricultural Development, in nearby Ouarzazate. The small town in the High Atlas mountains comes to life each year during the International Rose Festival, which is now in its 60th year. From the rose-shaped monuments at Kalaat M'Gouna's entrances to the Pepto Bismol pink taxis, nearly everything here adheres to the theme. Teenagers sell heart-shaped rose dashboard ornaments along the roadside where wild briars bloom into pink tangles. Children whirl around a rose-themed carousel. Roadside placards advertise rose products in at least six languages: English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Japanese and Amazigh, a tongue indigenous to the region. Outside the town, roses span 1,020ha across the region this year. One hectare of roses requires little water and provides more than 120 days of work in a local economy where opportunities are scarce. Regional officials say the rose industry is a prime example of sustainable development because the flowers are well-adapted to the climate and rooted in the culture – music, dance and celebrations like weddings. 'Roses here are perfectly adapted to the region and to the conditions we're living in now,' said Abdelaziz Ait Mbirik, director of the local Agricultural Development Office, referencing Morocco's prolonged drought conditions. The value of a kilogramme of roses is five to six times higher than it was several years ago. And unlike some other agricultural products that Morocco exports, Kalaat M'Gouna's roses are largely grown by small-scale farmers and nourished with drip irrigation. Though roses are broadly considered a lifeblood to the local economy, women toiling in the fields make an average of 80 to 100 Moroccan dirhams (RM37 to RM46) a day during harvest season. From the fields where they labour, the roses are bundled into potato sacks and sold to local distilleries like Mohammed Ait Hamed's. There, they are splayed onto tables, sorted and ultimately poured into copper cauldrons known as alembic stills, where they're steamed and filtered into fragrant water and precious oil. The two are packaged into pink bottles, tiny glass vials or spun into soaps or lotions. Long seen as a natural remedy for a variety of ails in Morocco, rose-based products are increasingly high in demand worldwide. Rosewater and oil are often incorporated into perfumes, toners or facial mists and marketed for their sweet and soothing smell as well as their anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. Elixirs, tonics and balms were flying off the shelves recently at festival booths staffed by local cooperatives from all over the region. The demand has spurred local officials to find ways to incentivise farmers to expand rose production in the upcoming years. At the festival parade, as drummers tapped their sticks in cadence, Fatima Zahra Bermaki, crowned this year's Miss Rose, waved from a float draped in petals. Fatima said she hoped the world could one day know the beauty of Kalaat M'Gouna and its desert roses. But amid the commotion, she remembered something: 'The ladies who pick the flowers are the important ones in all of this. If they weren't here, none of this would be,' she said. — AP
Herald Malaysia
6 days ago
- Herald Malaysia
Australian sister reflects on graces of jubilee pilgrimage
Traveling more than 10,000 miles to take part in this weekend's Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities, Sister Therese Mills, MGL, spoke to CNA of her great joy as she joined tens of thousands of other pilgrims in Rome. Jun 09, 2025 Sister Therese Mills, MGL, traveled from Australia to attend the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities in Rome, June 8, 2025. | Credit: Sister Therese Mills By Kristina Millare Traveling more than 10,000 miles to take part in this weekend's Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities, Sister Therese Mills, MGL, spoke to CNA of her great joy as she joined tens of thousands of other pilgrims in Rome. A leader of the Missionaries of God's Love Sisters, a charismatic Catholic group founded in Australia in 1987, Mills said her pilgrimage to Rome during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope has been a time of refreshment and renewal. She described the 'amazing' experience of walking through the Jubilee Door of St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday, the first day of the special jubilee dedicated to new Catholic movements and associations. Mills recalled 'just opening my hands and just praying that the Lord would refresh and renew my heart and refresh and renew my faith.' 'The thing that blew me away — and what I loved the most — was we were all on this journey together but everyone was speaking and praying in different languages,' she shared with CNA on Pentecost Sunday. Mills called her visit to the Blessed Sacrament chapel inside the papal basilica a 'God moment' that she will not forget. 'I just sat before Jesus and bawled my eyes out to be honest,' she said with a laugh. 'I was very overwhelmed with his love … the gift of being with him in this place, and with the universal Church.' The approximately 70,000 pilgrims participating in the weekend jubilee had the opportunity to explore different churches in Rome and attend music and entertainment events organized by various ecclesial groups. A few of the hundreds of new Catholic associations taking part in the June jubilee include the Neocatechumenal Way, Catholic Action, Communion and Liberation, the Catholic Shalom Community, the Community of Sant'Egidio, the Focolare Movement, and CHARIS International. During his homily at the Vigil Mass, Pope Leo described the new and diverse Church communities gathered around him as 'the fruits of the Second Vatican Council' who are 'grounded in the one Lord Jesus Christ' entrusted with 'a single mission.' Mills attended both Pope Leo's Pentecost Masses — the Vigil on Saturday night and one on Sunday morning. 'I really love being part of a universal Church, being united as one, and coming together to pray for the Spirit,' Mills said. In the days leading up to the official jubilee festivities, Mills undertook a pilgrimage to holy sites in Rome linked to patron saints of her Australian-based community, including St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Catherine of Siena. The first Missionaries of God's Love Sisters household was formed in the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn in 1988. Since then, the religious sisters have lived and ministered in the Australian cities of Adelaide, Darwin, Melbourne, and Sydney, and led outreach missions around the country and in other Asia-Pacific nations, including Fiji and Papua New Guinea.--CNA
The Star
07-06-2025
- The Star
A Brazilian medal for a Japanese princess
Gracious visit: Princess Kako (right) greeting a welcoming party at the Bunkyo Brazilian Society of Japanese Culture in Sao Paulo. — AP Princess Kako of Akishino, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, received the highest order of Brazil's powerhouse state of Sao Paulo as she kicks off an 11-day trip to the South American nation. Her trip also marks the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The younger daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko arrived on Thursday in Sao Paulo. She held appointments with members of the Japanese community on Friday and finished her schedule at a dinner with Governor Tarcisio de Freitas at the state government palace. She was awarded the Order of the Ipiranga at a closed ceremony. Princess Kako will visit another seven cities, including Rio de Janeiro and capital Brasilia, where she is expected to meet President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Speaking to de Freitas, she made reference to the first Japanese immigrants arriving in the city of Santos in 1908 after a gruesome voyage. On the first day of her trip, she visited the memorial to pioneer Japanese immigrants at Sao Paulo's Ibirapuera Park. 'I felt that the immigrants made an enormous effort to adapt to Brazil, and still today are very active in different areas. 'The fact that Brazil sheltered the Japanese community deepened the connections between the countries,' the princess said. Today, Brazil has the largest population of people of Japanese descent in the world, estimated at about 2.7 million. About half of those live in Sao Paulo state, official figures show. — AP
