A Sidewalk Pope in The Bronx
Pope Benedict XVI will be in the Bronx on Sunday morning when he celebrates Mass at Yankee Stadium. But a short distance away, he has been making appearances all week on the sidewalk in front of the Mount Carmel Catholic Book Shop, at 627 East 187th Street.
It is actually his cardboard likeness, placed in front of the store by Neil Fusco, a co-owner of the shop. Judged by the reactions of passers-by, it pleases many people with no tickets to any pope-related events this weekend. They speak to the pope’s likeness or genuflect or stop and pay their respects, on this block next to the many Italian restaurants and bakeries on Arthur Avenue.
“For a lot of people, it’s as close as they’re going to come to meeting the pope,” Mr. Fusco said.
“Everyone wants a piece of the pope while he’s here,” he added.
Aside from communing with the life-size cutout, one can also connect with the pope by stepping inside the shop and picking up a memento of the pope’s visit.
Mr. Fusco is selling “Property of Pope Benedict” T-shirts and “I Love Pope Benedict” bumper stickers, as well as coffee mugs and aromatic “Pope-Pourri” pillows bearing the pope’s likeness. The stuff has been going like hotcakes, he said. It is a perfect example of how the pope offers spiritual guidance but also lets his followers with their livelihoods.
“He’s really providing for us,” Mr. Fusco said.
SOURCE: NYTimes.com Read more..
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