New artifacts started to show up in the online marketplace on the same day that Pope Francis passed away.
Soon after Francis’s death on Monday, the memorabilia, which ranged from bobbleheads to autographed cards featuring the pontiff’s likeness, started to show up on eBay and other internet marketplaces. New listings appeared as the pope’s tributes came in. Older listings gained popularity again.
One item, a 2015 autographed LEAF trading card, was selling for $1,299, although prices varied greatly. Some of the autographed pictures were selling for as much as $4,000. While “holy oil” purportedly blessed by Francis was advertised for $45.99, other things, such as a gold stamp, were priced at $44.95.
Some people are so heartless
This man died just a few hours ago
And some people went on to create a coin using his name
Pope Francis is not a man that we should joke with
Pls Dex traders try and be honest with your actions pic.twitter.com/otcJi9lGrU
— Deeni web3 (@Deeni360) April 21, 2025
Pictures of famous people, posters, rosaries, keychains, T-shirts, mugs, candles, and bobbleheads are some of the more common types of memorabilia. In the past day or so, comparable products have been listed on Mercari and Facebook Marketplace.
The more unusual Pope Francis memorabilia we have seen is included here, along with the current prices for each item.
- Pope Francis stickers, socks and more begin to appear
- $3.99 for Decal bumper sticker
- Party face mask listed for $8.95
- Barbiconi Zucchetto Skull Cap which is blessed by Pope Francis listed for $300
- Autobiography of Pope Francis listed for $24.87
- The Wall Street Journal’s 2025 Easter issue listed for $6
- Tapestry banner listed for $7.50
- Pope Francis decorative plate and cup listed for $56.31
- Holy Water listed for $11.96
- Christmas tree ornament listed for $30
- Socks listed for $12.44
- Pope Francis’ bust listed for $69
Pope hasnt even been dead a full week and people are already selling his merch on vinted😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/ctI4KSlDtY
— Lames (lily’s defense attorney) (@jilypads) April 23, 2025
Pope Francis was the 266th person to hold the office. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was the first pope born outside of Europe in more than a thousand years and the first from the Americas. When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, he named himself after the Italian friar who gave up his fortune in the 13th century, St. Francis of Assisi.
A few months after being admitted to the hospital for a serious medical emergency, Francis passed away on April 21 from a stroke and irreparable heart failure. His outreach to women, immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ individuals, and people of other religions will be recognized as part of his leadership of more than 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. He occasionally adopted unpopular or progressive positions on important topics like climate change and same-sex relationships.
