In shops, new face joins old

ROME -- Less than 24 hours after Pope Benedict XVI introduced himself to the world, his image lined the mobile souvenir carts around Vatican City.

''We are just doing our job; we need to make money just like everyone else," said one cart owner who would not give his name. He had slipped photographs of Benedict into small picture frames and clear plastic cases overnight, he said.

But at Galleria Savelli in front of St. Peter's Basilica, a store that has been selling religious articles since 1898, there were no signs of Benedict XVI souvenirs by yesterday afternoon. Shelves were fully stocked with Pope John Paul II prayer cards, rosary beads, calendars, and sculptures. The store's owners said they had no immediate intention of replacing merchandise of the late pope with that of his successor.

''John Paul will sell always," said Rosanna Savelli. She said the business had just ordered 2,000 postcards and 2,000 key chains bearing the image of the late pontiff.

With its long history, the store is no stranger to papal transitions. This time around, Savelli said, the business is going to hold off before calling in any big orders to their manufacturers for items commemorating the new pope.

Another store specializing in papal and Italian souvenirs, Fratelli Bordin, says it has returned some of its John Paul stock to manufacturers to make room for Benedict items, although none had arrived yet.

''This is what we do," said the store's owner, Fabrizio Bordin, 37. Demonstrating, he took a magnet bearing the image of John Paul II and peeled off the plastic photo with his fingernail. ''We take it back to the manufacturer, and they put a new face on."

For Benedict's inauguration service on Sunday, Bordin said he has already ordered German flags.

''Surely on Sunday there will be a lot of Germans," he said.