Roman police nab counterfeiters producing fake papal blessings
December 14, 2015
Police in Rome have uncovered an illegal operation producing counterfeit papal blessings.
Working with Vatican police, city officials seized about 3,500 counterfeit documents that had been printed in a shop near St. Peter’s Square. The documents looked like genuine papal blessings, complete with a photo of the Pontiff; they were printed in several languages. The counterfeiters even asked purchasers to fill out a form to be submitted to the Office of Papal Charities, which handles requests for papal blessings. But in fact those forms were not submitted; the counterfeiters planned to pocket the revenues.
Police have been on guard for illegal operations seeking to profit from the influx of pilgrims coming to Rome for the Jubilee Year. The Vatican, too, has sought to cut down on the number of people offering to provide personalized papal blessings.
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