Rome, Italy, Jan 16, 2007 / 11:20 am
A new gadget offering a digitally recorded blessing from the late Pope John Paul II has been selling like hotcakes at Italian newsstands.
The palm-size device, which has a small picture of John Paul mounted on an electronic card, is being offered as a free gift with a new Catholic monthly, called Benedicat Vos, Italian news agency ANSA has reported. At the press of a button, the user hears the late Pope’s voice offer a blessing in Latin.
About 35,000 of these cards have been purchased so far and the magazine’s publisher, Efelia, says it will distribute another 35,000 copies in the next few days.