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• VISIONS OF ECONOMIC WINDFALL | 9:30 p.m. ET
With up to 4 million pilgrims pouring into the city to pay their respects to Pope John Paul II, businesses hope for an unseasonable windfall worth millions of dollars — but some say profits could be disappointing.
City officials, storekeepers and business owners complained Wednesday some of the profit is going to unlicensed street vendors — selling water, food or papal trinkets, for instance — and said stores that are not near the Vatican are almost empty.
These are not the high-rolling spenders who wander through the ancient ruins or museums of the Eternal City. These are pilgrims who don’t go to restaurants, take cabs or tourist trips around Rome.
But their sheer numbers are bound to translate into a business boon.
So many are coming for Friday’s funeral that the city is offering free cots at tent camps erected on a fairground, in an unused railway building and inside a concert hall.
“This is a type of tourism that is eat-and-run,” said Franco Cioffarelli, the city’s financial chief. “It certainly brings in money, but I don’t think this is a relevant phenomenon financially.”
• HUGE DEMAND FOR MEMORIAL PRODUCTS | 7:50 p.m. ET
Roman Catholic churches across the United States have been rushing to find bunting, candles and other products to help the faithful mourn the death of Pope John Paul II — and to recognize a new pontiff once he is chosen.
That’s meant a busy week for companies and stores that sell religious items.
“Until Friday, it was just a steady stream of people inquiring (about) what products would be available when the pope passes, and people were quite afraid to really come out and say it,” said Grant T. Orr, whose Gaithersburg, Md., company is one of the largest wholesale liturgical product sellers on the East Coast. The company also has a retail store in Baltimore.
Before it happened, Orr didn’t want to advertise or even bring up the subject of the pope’s death because doing so seemed crass to him: “I didn’t want to do anything really — other than the peripheral planning — until he passed.”
So when the pope died Saturday, business soared and made things hectic.
Condolence books and cards with the pope’s picture have been very popular, as have memorial candles with the papal coat-of-arms.
Orr has spent most of the week calling manufacturers, asking them to ship goods quickly. Some churches saw a month’s supply of candles dwindle rapidly over the weekend.
• POLICE STEM FLOW OF FAITHFUL | 6:40 p.m. ET
More than 1 million pilgrims will have filed by Pope John Paul II's crimson-robed body by the end of Wednesday, according to calculations by the Italian civil defense department.
Police stepped in Wednesday to turn back mourners hoping to join the viewing line.
Seeking to clear the basilica by Thursday evening so the Vatican could prepare for the pontiff's funeral the following day, police announced they would close the line at 10 p.m. Wednesday night (4 p.m. Wednesday ET)
“We’re just hoping the order can be reversed,” said Federica Bruni, a 20-year-old student who came from northern Italy and was one of the first to be told to go away Wednesday night.
It took more than an hour after the deadline to set up the barricades and establish the cutoff point.
“You tell these people!” said one Civil Defense officer in frustration as the time passed for the line to end. “How can we close?”
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