The souvenirs carried the Pope's photo without permission, as well as illegally carrying the Vatican coat of arms and the emblem of the papal tiara.

The merchants selling the trinkets wanted to take advantage of increased tourism to Rome associated with Jubilee Year of Mercy, police said.

Three people were arrested on charges of counterfeiting, receiving stolen goods and breaching copyright.

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Shops close to St Peter's Square have been selling such blessings at a considerable profit.

But Bishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, said that beginning on January 1, 2015, such papal blessings will only be available through the Office of Papal Charities.

The parchments will be available for purchase online and all profits will go to papal charities.

Since the pontificate of Leo XIII, the Vatican has allowed the sale of parchments conveying papal blessings, stamped with the papal seal and signed by the papal almoner.

These parchments are regularly purchased as gifts for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions.

Shopkeepers were informed of the change in April.

Italian news agency Ansa reported that 50 owners of souvenir shops have written a letter of protest to the Pope.

Under the current system, the shop-owners collect the bulk of the profits from sales of the parchments.

The scrolls are currently sourced from the Vatican for as little as 3 euros and can be sold to the public by souvenir shops for up to 50 euros.

In the past two months, the Office of Papal Charities was able to donate 200,000 euros to people who are having difficulties in paying their bills or rent, La Stampa reported.

The first steps to end the souvenir shops' trade in such papal blessings were taken four years ago by Pope Benedict.

In the Holy Year of 1950, the Vatican tasked shops and libraries to make blessings available to the ever larger number of pilgrims coming to Rome.

The small papal charities office was having difficulty physically dealing with all the requests for blessings, but that has been overcome in the Internet age.

Last year, Pope Francis also authorised nunciatures around the world to issue scrolls with papal blessings, La Stampa said.

The only external entities that will continue to assist the Office of Papal Charities will be the cloistered monasteries, which produce the finest handwritten scrolls.

Sources

• Catholic World News
• BBC
• La Stampa
• Image: New York Daily News