In past visits here, Pope John Paul II has concentrated on his message, and entrusted the merchandising to the free market. But frankly, a lot of the souvenirs-the Pope-on-a-Rope soap, say, or the 1987 T shirts from New Orleans that depicted the pontiff boiling some crawfish–were disappointing. “We realized from previous papal trips that there are materials out there that we don’t like,” says Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of communication for WYD . “We wanted a measure of quality control.”
Event organizers contracted with FAME Inc., which has handled merchandising for I the Rolling Stones (though not Sinead O’Connor), to scout out and license as many as 350 products. Some applicants didn’t make the grade. A sculpture of the Holy Father skiing, called Pope on a Slope, for example, failed for sartorial reasons. The pontiff, says FAME president John Lemke, “doesn’t ski in liturgical garb.” But, he admits, “it would be hard to tell it was the pope if you put him in a parka.” Still, the organizers didn’t get too snooty. Sister Mary Ann says she particularly likes the T shirt that has a picture of the pope and says MOST EXCELLENT. Us too. But we’ll miss the lively vulgarity of the Papal Pucker Ring.
