From wine bottles to kitchen cloths: the Pope's souvenirs burst into Sagrada Familia
The shops around the Sagrada Familia begin to sell details with the face of the pontiff, a lure that does not seem to excite visitors
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BarcelonaA bottle of red wine with a label of dubious origin. However, with the Pope's name printed in large letters to attract the attention of tourists who want to take home a presumably local product with the pontiff's face. All for 28.99. If the wine doesn't attract so much attention, there are many other souvenirs to buy on the occasion of the visit of Leo XIV to Barcelona that are beginning to appear in the souvenir shops around the Sagrada Família. It will be in the temple where the Pope plans to celebrate a mass on June 10. visit of Leo XIV to Barcelona that are beginning to appear in the souvenir shops around the Sagrada Família. It will be in the temple where the Pope plans to celebrate a mass on June 10.
A few days away, however, it seems that neither tourists, nor shopkeepers, nor neighbors are living with great anticipation the great event that the Catalan capital has with the Pope. Juani Vega, manager of Rigels, a shop in the area, explains that sales of papal products are still timid. What they have sold the most has been the kitchen towel with Leo XIV printed on it, she explains, while pointing to a display case with everything they have to offer.
"We haven't noticed people coming specifically to look for it," he explains, and assures that for next Wednesday they are not expecting great sales either, as the streets will be cut off and the area restricted: "What we want most is to be able to get to work," he assures.
The most seen on the shelves are rosaries, bags, and mugs, gifts that cost around 15 euros and are repeated in all the shops in the area. Magnets of Leo XIV are the most abundant, with the pontiff and the Sagrada Familia in the background, and also surprising is a pop-style t-shirt hanging at the entrance of the shops or a small figurine kept in a metal case. Through the streets of the basilica, regular groups of tourists fill the sidewalks, but they are more focused on photographs of the monument or small souvenirs from Gaudí's temple.
Àlex Castillo, manager of Emporio Souvenirs, has not noticed any interest from tourists visiting his shop on Mallorca street, and hopes sales will increase once the big day has passed. An event that "rather than benefiting, harms," he says. He explains that he will not come to work on the 10th, as he lives outside the city and traffic restrictions will make it very difficult for him to access his workplace. However, he will open the shop, even though he does not expect to sell anything: "I don't think the police or the press will come to buy."
Sellers, in the dark
Besides the prior preparations, shopkeepers assure that they are living the pontiff's visit to the Sagrada Família blindly: "Nobody has warned us or told us anything," explains Castillo. In the area, containers and objects from the public highway that could obstruct passage, as well as terraces, will be removed. Other sellers of souvenir shops agree and criticize that they are not clear about what the protocol will be on that day, nor if they will be able to go to work.
Sílvia, who runs a small stall on Carrer Provença, also sells keychains with the pontiff's face stamped on them and makes small wooden boxes in the shape of a heart, some with rosaries inside and Leo XIV on the cover. She is from Calafell and explains that she also knows nothing: she is clear that on Wednesday she will not be able to set up her stall, but she does not know if she will be able to do so on Tuesday or if she will be able to access it with her car: "If they don't tell us anything, we will come, and if we can't get there, we will have to go back home".
Most agree that the last papal visit, in 2010 with Benedict XVI, was very different. "Many more people came, everything was not so cut off," assures Juani Vega. That occasion coincided with a Sunday, which allowed those interested to approach the church in a city much less blocked to passage than this year.
Expectant tourists
Although the anticipation is not yet palpable, some tourists, like Erica Oliveros, are staunch followers of the Pope. She is originally from Peru, although she lives in Las Vegas, and is in Barcelona doing religious tourism with her family. She explains that she will go to Madrid this weekend to see the pontiff in Cibeles and then return to Barcelona to coincide with him: "I am Catholic and we have been looking for a place to see the Pope for a long time, we have tried to coordinate the dates to achieve it," she explains.
Marta Valdés, a Mexican tourist who has already been to the Sagrada Família a few times, regrets not being able to coincide with the Pope, as she has just found out about the event and is leaving two days before he arrives, but she will buy something to remember the trip: "It makes my heart happy to know that we will be so close to him".
Others, like Carles, a retiree and resident of Arenys de Mar, were already aware of it, but will not buy anything: "I don't consider it necessary," he says. Nevertheless, he will watch it on television and hopes that the level of coverage will be similar to 2010, when he did attend and the city received, as will happen in a few days, the Holy Father and all that entails.