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First Official WMOF Physical Pop-up Store Opens In Center City

By Hadas Kuznits

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- You can now purchase your official World Meeting of Families 2015 souvenirs in Philadelphia.

The first official physical pop-up store for the 2015 World Meeting of Families opened Wednesday in the lobby of the Aramark building at 1101 Market Street in Center City.

"There are rosaries and metals and bracelets and t-shirts and hats and pope bobble head dolls; all kinds of officials merchandise, and we're going to keep adding into the store," says Donna Farrell, executive director of the World Meeting of Families 2015. "One of the traditions of a papal visit is that you would bring your rosaries or metals or even a bracelet to the papal events, because at the end of each event, Pope Francis will bless the crowd, and then anything that you have, a metal or a rosary, they're blessed."

For people who may come up with their own commemorative items, Farrell says it's a free market economy.

"We salute some of the incredible creativity we have seen," she says. "At the same time, we just want to remind everybody that this is the official retail merchandise."

Farrell says additional pop-up stores will be opened on the Ben Franklin Parkway, Independence Mall and at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. She says a portion of the proceeds will go towards helping offset the costs of the World Meeting of Families.

 

 

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