VATICAN CORNER
Christmas 2017 is being celebrated with a new postage stamp series jointly created by the Vatican and the principality of Monaco. The stamps feature the artwork of Stefano Morri, and show the Annunciation of Our Lady, and the Virgin & Child, while the buildings in the background are of Monaco and the Vatican. The Vatican has a reputation for producing handsome and attractive stamps in limited quantities between 300,000 and 500,000, and releasing them several times a year. Usually stamps commemorate some religious event. Last month, a new stamp was for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation – the second major split in Christianity. Another stamp was for the 450th anniversary of the birth of Saint Francis de Sales. Special Vatican stamps are produced for special occasions. One such example was the stamp to mark the end of Pope Benedict’s papacy in 2013. During the short periods of time when there is no Pope “Sede Vacante”, the Vatican produces special stamps and envelopes issued and valid only during that !me. They are designed soon after the new Pope takes office and are kept and used only after his death or leave. In most cases those special items are very high in value and purchased in bulk by stamp collectors who want them because they are rare and because they represent a very crucial period for the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican Philatelic (stamp) Society is based in the United States, and is the only organization in the world devoted exclusively to the collection and study of Vatican stamps and postal history. The Vatican has maintained its own post office since the 14 century. It is estimated that the Vatican Post Office handles about two million letters a year, more than six million post cards, and over 15,000 packages. There is about 800 pounds of mail a day (25 bags). The Vatican Post Office even reports an annual profit, but mostly attributed to the sale of commemorative items, such as stamps, coins and medals. The sale of limited edition special papal stamps was used to help raise money when the restoration of the colonnades in St. Peter’s Square ran into financial problems. There are four post offices open to everyone who wishes to send mail both within and outside Vatican City, the largest office being just inside St. Anne’s Gate. Italian stamps may not be used on Vatican mail, nor vice versa, and letters and packages originating in Vatican City do not generally enter the Italian mail system at all, unless they are address to an Italian destination. Much of Vatican mail is from tourists or residents, but oddly enough, in Italy, many Romans travel to the Vatican City Post Office to send their important letters because of their distrust of the Italian postal system. They find the Vatican City Post Office more reliable than their own, being fast and safe, with letters on the plane that very night, and where they need to be the next day. From nuns to businessmen to writers, secretaries and mail deliverers, many say the mail sent from the Holy City will reach its destination safely without the need of a Hail Mary, and the Universal Postal Union says it is one of the best postal systems in the world.
Sources: Catholic News Service, Va!can.com, nytimes.com, huffingtonpost.com, arago,si,edu