The Money-Changers

During the Holy Years of the Middle Ages (notably 1300 and 1350), two deacons are said to have been stationed permanently by the altar rails of St. Peter's in Rome, armed with rakes to scrape up the gold, silver and precious stones which pilgrims threw upon the altar steps. Then, as soon as the pilgrims' spiritual obligations had been taken care of, the Roman citizenry joined gleefully in the ancient custom of taking the pilgrims to the cleaners. In those days, hawkers sold enough "pieces of the True Cross" to build a small village.

Carvings & Black Cloaks. This summer, as the Holy Year 1950 approached, the Romans once again began sharpening their wits to give money-laden visitors a big welcome. One private enterpriser set up a stall at the foot of St. Peter's steps to peddle rosaries, postcards, photographs. For well-heeled tourists he would produce, as if allowing a privileged glimpse of a secret treasure, a varied collection of sacred cameos about which the only thing exceptional was the outrageous price. Opposite him another stall soon blossomed specializing in under-the-counter sales of high-priced coral carvings. A third entrepreneur arrived with a collection of black cloaks over his arm for renting to short-sleeved women judged by the doorkeeper insufficiently dressed to enter the basilica. (After the hawker had made friends with the doorman, few prosperous-looking women got to see St. Peter's without first hiring a cloak.)

All over Italy, schemes were being made to cash in on the first Holy Year since 1933 (TIME, June 6). As far away as Taranto, a businessman planned to make a killing with beer bottles made in the shape of St. Peter's basilica. (Rome's patent office frowned on the idea.) Police clamped down on a photographer's ingenious gadget: a strip of photographs of the Pope making the sign of the cross; when slipped through the hand, the device would give its owner the sensation of personally receiving the Pope's blessing.

Cleanup Week. When Vatican officials heard that Rome's professional pickpockets were already casing St. Peter's Square for areas of easiest pickings, they decided things had gone far enough. Last week a committee consisting of Rome's chief of police, chief of the carabinieri and a Vatican representative cleared all stalls from the steps of St. Peter's, banned all vendors, photographers and beggars from the square.

After this ruling, Italy's semiofficial, two-million-member Catholic Action organization thought it was safe to ask for exclusive permission "to sell souvenirs in St. Peter's Square." With lifted hand, Cardinal Nicola Canali, who governs Vatican City, thundered: "No! St. Peter's is a house of prayer."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.