Souvenirs abound for pope’s DC trip

Marina Delboy poses with a souvenir cutout of Pope Benedict XVI at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception gift shop in Washington, D.C.

? If your teddy bear needs a shirt, you can get one with the pope’s picture on it for $15.95.

If Pope Benedict XVI is your man, you can feel close to him with Pope on a Rope soap for $9.99 or the Pope’s Cologne for $25.95.

And if you want pure pope entertainment, there is a bobblehead Pope Benedict for $12.95.

Pope souvenirs – from the irreverent to the religious – are starting to pop up in Washington as the date of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States draws near. Priced from $2 to $120, these souvenirs aim to cash in on the first visit by a pope to the United States in nine years and the first visit by Benedict since his election in 2005.

Catholic organizations, including the Archdiocese of Washington and the basilica, the site in northeast Washington where the pope will speak on April 16, are selling merchandise, many with a logo licensed from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The logo features a photo of the pope with the slogan “Christ Our Hope.”

The archdiocese and the basilica’s products were designed and are being manufactured by Catholic to the Max, a division of Nelson Woodcraft, a manufacturer of Catholic memorabilia in Steubenville, Ohio. The company will share proceeds of the sales – no one will say how much – with the archdiocese and the basilica.