New pope isn”t a best seller yet

VATICAN CITY — While the election of Pope Benedict XVI met with jubilation in Vatican City and around the world, the new pontiff has yet to become a bestseller in the souvenir trade.

A U.S. company selling religious books and pictures has seen a flurry of requests for items featuring Pope Benedict XVI, and publishers say there has been immediate demand for his many books. But vendors around the Vatican this past week had few or no items featuring Benedict — given that he’d just been elected — and manufacturers of religious items in Italy said there had been no requests to make any in the days after his election. Pope John Paul II, meanwhile, continues to sell.

“We think people are very fond of the old pope, and we’re waiting to get to know this one,” said Letizia Falasco at Creazioni Falasco, which makes everything from religious medals to key chains. “I think people are still a little skeptical because they don’t know him.”

Some souvenir shop owners around the Vatican said they expected to get some Benedict items by Sunday, in time for his formal installation as pope. They said they had not heard from suppliers and had not tried to reach them to find out whether they would come in time.

Shops displayed the new pope’s books prominently in their windows, but the photos, medals, key rings and postcards inside still showed his predecessor, John Paul.

A few people came in asking whether Souvenirs Traspontina was selling images of the new pope, clerk Carlo Bernardi said.

“I told them that no, we weren’t clairvoyant,” Bernardi said.

Estimates on religious memorabilia sales are hard to come by, but by most accounts it is a small market. Falasco said her company has sales of $2 million a year, of which 5 percent only comes from papal items. Creazioni Falasco probably represents 2 percent to 3 percent of the Italian market for religious items, she said. Other companies would not cite sales figures.

Experts say Benedict may be more of a marketing challenge than his predecessor, whose broad appeal translated into a princely demand for pictures and keepsakes with his likeness.

“It’s a matter of whether the new pope is going to reach out as much and connect to the various constituencies around the world as much as the previous pope,” said Roland Rust, chairman of the University of Maryland’s marketing department.

But it could just be a matter of time before demand picks up for items with Benedict’s likeness, said Richard Pomazal, a professor of marketing at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia.

“Obviously, the former pope was around for 25 years,” Pomazal said. “Pope Benedict is new and apparently not the ‘in’ thing.”