The last few weeks have been a shopping bonanza in the U.S. for Pope Benedict XVI souvenirs. People have snapped up pope items that range from rosaries to T-shirts, mugs, key chains to postcards, including Pope on a rope soap and bobble-head dolls. The urge to take a piece of the papacy home with them has enticed some folks to spend hundreds of dollars, according to this article from the Washington Post.

Pope Benedict's last U.S. appearance is today at JFK Airport in NYC where he is making a farewell address. (This is what is listed on the itinerary on the Vatican's Web site.) I wonder if souvenir shop owners are looking at their shelves wondering if they over did with the stock, or did they guess right?

I also wonder if hawkers were outside Yankee Stadium today with Pope Benedict goods hanging from carts and spread out on blankets? He was there as well.

I imagine that, eventually, Pope Benedict items will reduce in price because people, who will be buying them, will be people who didn't see him during his visit. They'll just be browsing through a store.

That's the problem with the souvenir business. Although, Pope Benedict XVI items have been hot sellers, it's hard to judge just how much of something will sell once an event is over. What is a souvenir seller to do with the leftovers?

By the way, as cited in this Fox News article, according to Rev. Mark Morozowich, an associate dean at the Catholic University of America, bobble-head dolls of the Pope Benedict are fine. We have bobble-heads of sports figures, why not the pope?

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Business, Festivals and Events, North America, United States