Flemington Department Store co-owner Ted Resnick always thought the ultimate job would be working with the pope. After several meetings with...
FLEMINGTON, N.J. — Flemington Department Store co-owner Ted Resnick always thought the ultimate job would be working with the pope. After several meetings with the Archdiocese of New York, he got his wish.
His store provided 20,000 square feet of white and yellow carpet for the pope to walk on at two of his recent appearances in the United States.
Now, Resnick is giving it away 1-foot-by-1-foot sections of the carpet that Pope Benedict XVI walked on during his recent visit. The white-carpet sections are from his April 20 Mass at Yankee Stadium; the yellow pieces are from his April 19 visit to St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers.
Resnick said he’s receiving requests from throughout the country.
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People want the carpet sections for different reasons. “There was one woman who wanted a piece for her son to kneel on when he got married,” he said.
Resnick saved the carpet from under the pope’s chair and said he plans to do something special and give it to a local church.
People are interested in the carpet sections because having a memento from a U.S. papal visit is rare. Benedict is just the third pope to visit the United States.
Pope Paul VI was the first to visit, in 1965 when he spoke at the United Nations. Pope John Paul II made public appearances twice, in 1979 and 1995.
The Flemington Department Store has put down carpeting for many high-profile events, including the tree lighting at New York’s Rockefeller Center and the MTV Video Music Awards.
While Resnick likely will work on many more high-profile events, there probably won’t be anything like the pope’s visit.”That will never be topped,” he said.