Pope merchandise doesn't disappoint

THE CHURCH calls them pilgrims, but Stephen Richards, North Philly street entrepreneur that he is, had another word for the thousands of Catholics streaming into the Pennsylvania Convention Center yesterday for the opening of the World Meeting of Families.

"Look at all the money," Richards said to no one in particular as he peddled his Pope Francis memorabilia with great success.

"Pope shirts! Pope pins!" Richards said, pausing as a priest walked by. "How you doing, Father?"

Later, Richards could be seen sauntering down Arch Street with his American flag backpack, triumphantly kazoo-ing the Rocky theme.

And who could blame him? The World Meeting of Families isn't just a celebration of faith. It's a celebration of capitalism. There was something for everybody inside the Convention Center.

Catholic jewelry. Catholic coffee. Toys. DVDs. Stuffed animals. Dolls. Paintings. Matchmaking services. Literature for married people, single people, divorced people. Books about dealing with demons and atheists and Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants. Glass bottles that look dangerously close to flasks.

A "cube of love" that is not quite as exciting as it sounds to a heathen. A rosary-based exercise routine called SoulCore that looks a whole lot like yoga but, the creators emphasize, should not be referred to as "Catholic yoga."

Religious-themed shirts that riff on the logos for Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Harley-Davidson and "The Godfather" - as in, "Godthefather." A shirt that says, "I love it when you call me Big Papa" on the front and "Notorious J.O.Y." on the back.

You get the idea.

Bob Scocozzo, owner of Mia Bella's candles in Wilkes-Barre, was selling pope-themed scented candles, including those featuring Pope Francis' face. He recommended against lighting the wicks and watching the pope's face melt. That would be unfortunate.

"It's a collector's item. Nobody's going to burn them," Scocozzo clarified. "It's a coffee-table thing."

OK, Bob. Don't set the pope on fire. Check.

Across the hall, Carmen Feliciano was selling "miracle shirts" - palm-sized hearts that turn into T-shirts when you put them in water. Kind of like those foam dinosaurs you had when you were a kid. The shirts say "Dope Pope" and feature Pope Francis wearing a pair of sunglasses and waving.

The word "dope" caused some confusion for older attendees, who may have thought the pope had turned into a pothead or something.

"It means he's cool," Feliciano explained to one woman. " 'Dope' is a good word."

In the hallway of the convention center, Steve Dawson of St. Paul Street Evangelization was handing out "Pope money" - $1 million bills with the pontiff's face on the front.

"We break the ice with a million-dollar bill and that starts the conversation," Dawson said. "Father, did you get your stipend?" Dawson said as he offered a bill to a priest.

St. Nicholas, a/k/a/ Santa Claus, was wandering around with a majestic white beard, posing for "elfies" with attendees. And everyone wanted a picture standing among the cardboard cutouts of Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.

For reasons that remained unclear as of press time, the pontiffs were positioned in front of an advertisement for CatholicMatch.com, a dating service for single Catholics.

- Staff writer Stephanie Farr

contributed to this report.

On Twitter: @wbender99