loses the thief, and follows the old man into a church, which is offering food

and a shave to those want those services. Commenting on the role of the

Catholic Church in post-War Italy, De Sica interrupts the mass with Antonio’s

interrogation of the old man. As the congregation prays, that their souls be

purified and their spirits soothed on their paths of sorrow and privation,

Antonio demands the criminal’s address.  The old man is oblivious to both and

only wants to know what he will be given to eat.  De Sica’s evaluation of the

Catholic Church is clear.  In a world in which the recovery of a bicycle stands

between prosperity and starvation, a priest’s promise of heaven has lost his

power to comfort the poor. Sanctuaries have become soup kitchens, where well

dressed women herd the parishioners like sheep, and lawyers serve as barbers

and leads the litany.  While the bourgeoisie must seduce the power to Mass,

Roman women line up to spend their last lira on a clairvoyant. When Antonio

losses hope -- admitting that even the saints cannot help him -- he too turns

to Signora Santona.  Hungry for a brighter future, her clients come to her as

they once did to the church, confessing their problems. She in turn, provides

them with metaphoric and cryptic answers.  She tells Antonio that he will

either find the bicycle now or not at all.  She sounds like a charlatan but

when Antonio and Bruno step into the street, the thief miraculously appears and

the chase is on again. The criminal turns out to be a pathetic epileptic, just

as destitute as Antonio.  The police can offer no help without witnesses and

evidence, so Antonio surrenders his fight without pressing charges. Hopeless,

Antonio and Bruno wander aimlessly through the city streets, finally resting

outside a soccer stadium. Hundreds of bicycles are parked outside.  The crowd