Thousands of papal souvenirs sold as Singapore prepares to welcome Pope Francis

SINGAPORE: Specially designed souvenirs have been flying off the shelves at the Catholic Centre along Waterloo Street as Singapore gears up to welcome Pope Francis next week.

All proceeds, including those from the sale of T-shirts which have been the bestseller, will go towards the Pope Francis Singapore Fund to support the papal visit.

The 87-year-old pontiff is currently on a four-nation tour in the Asia Pacific stretching over 11 days. It is his longest trip since becoming head of the Catholic Church in 2013, and his first since September last year.

He began the trip in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday (Sep 3) where he held an interfaith meeting at Istiqlal Mosque – Southeast Asia’s largest mosque – and led a mass for about 80,000 Catholics at a stadium complex.

He has appeared to be in good spirits despite concerns over his health. Bronchitis and joint pain have slowed the pope down in recent years and caused him to postpone some trips and meetings.

He is set to travel to Papua New Guinea on Friday until Sunday before heading to Timor-Leste. He will then round off his trip in Singapore from Sep 11 to 13.

PROCEEDS WILL SUPPORT PAPAL VISIT

With the pope’s visit looming, thousands of souvenirs – including T-shirts, umbrellas, tumblers, hats and tote bags – have already been sold at a pop-up store at the Catholic Centre in fundraising efforts for the Catholic community.

Other items for sale include school bags and toys for the young, all in the colours of the Vatican flag.

To further boost fundraising efforts, limited-edition items – featuring the upcoming papal mass at the National Stadium on Sep 12 –  will soon be available for purchase.

The team behind the effort worked on these designs for months, said Ms Lilian Kong, executive director of the Catholic Foundation and head of the Pope Francis Singapore Fund’s fundraising and souvenirs committee.

She said that the committee designed the logo to reflect a theme of unity and hope originating from scriptural text.

“We also have a very meaningful cross emblem which incorporates the five stars of (the Singapore flag) in it,” Ms Kong added.

Some items are already sold out, she said.

The committee is also trying to work with affiliated preschools to produce items such as a “preschool bundle” that parents can purchase.

As the papal visit draws closer, the committee has been running low on stock, but Ms Kong said it is trying its best to bring in new stock as quickly as possible.

Singaporeans are not the only ones snapping up the souvenirs, she said, adding that customers from Malaysia and further abroad have been placing online orders. 

“When we quietly launched our online store, we were really surprised that within a few minutes, we had four or five orders … so it was very encouraging,” she added.

SOUVENIRS FROM VERIFIED SOURCES

Each official souvenir is marked with a tag or label to help people identify it as an authentic product.

Ms Kong noted: “There were also guidelines from the Vatican itself on the use of the pope’s images and everything, so we had to interpret these guidelines and try to incorporate and make it meaningful in our souvenirs.”

Given these strict copyright guidelines, the potential of unlicensed merchandise sold elsewhere – especially online – has surfaced.

While it has not been an issue in Singapore so far, the committee reminded people to only buy official souvenirs from verified sources.

“We always highlight or caution the buyers that there is a special meaning and reason behind the souvenirs. Because when you buy the souvenirs, you're not just buying an item – you're actually directly supporting the entire occasion,” said Ms Kong.

“We really wanted this occasion to unite the Catholics in Singapore, as well as with the community and the greater church at large … it is (also) a good lead into the Jubilee year 2025,” she added, referring to the year of Jubilee for the Catholic community that takes place every 25 years.

POPE’S ITINERARY

Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 2.15pm on Sep 11 after departing from Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. He will hold a private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus at the St Francis Xavier Retreat Centre that evening.

The following day, he will attend a welcome ceremony at Parliament House, and meet Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

He will then give a speech and meet authorities, members of the diplomatic corps and local representatives in the theatre of the Cultural Centre of the National University of Singapore.

Later that evening, he will lead mass and deliver the homily at the National Stadium.

He will also visit elderly residents at St Theresa’s Home on Sep 13, as well as hold an interreligious meeting with youths and deliver a speech at Catholic Junior College.

The last time a pope visited Singapore was in 1986 when John Paul II made a five-hour stop as part of his Asia-Pacific tour that included Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia.