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During 2013 Pope Francis traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Lampedusa, Cagliari, and Assisi in Italy. The Vatican issued two stamp designs for the visits. The €0,70 stamp marked the visit to Rio de Janeiro. The €0,85 stamp commemorated the visits to Lampedusa, Cagliari, and Assisi. 150,000 individual stamps were offered in sheets of ten. The €0,85 stamp, which depicts Pope Francis preaching to the crowds, was also available in 60,000 booklets of four stamps (the 23rd booklet issued by the Vatican.) Funds raised from the sale of the Lampedusa booklet were reserved for the Holy Father's work to assist migrants. 
Along with Pope Francis, approximately three million attended World Youth Day 2013 held in Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium 23-28 July 2013. The theme was "Go and make disciples of all peoples." (Matthew 28:19). The €0,70 stamp depicts Pope Francis greeting attendees with a portion of Christ the Redeemer statue in the background. On 8 July 2013 Pope Francis visited Lampedusa, one of the three Italian Pelagie Islands, on the southernmost part of Italy in the Mediterranean, approximately 70 miles off the coast of Tunisia. Lampedusa is a point for North African migrants to reach Italian territory. The number of arrivals has increased significantly since 2000. Some migrants arrive in leaky boats and in some instances some transports have sunk before arriving and, at times migrants are brought by smugglers. Migrant facilities are often insufficient to meet the demand for housing and food. Most arrivals are economic rather than political refugees. The treatment of migrants has been condemned by the European Union which has to date offered no assistance to Italy to deal with the migrants. During his visit, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with the migrants. He thanked those who worked with the migrants' desperate conditions... stating "immigrants dying at sea, in boats which were vehicles of hope and became vehicles of death." A portion of his comments is printed inside the stamp booklet. The Holy Father also visited Cagliari, Sardinia on 22 September 2013. The city is located on the southern tip of the island and once served as the Kingdom of Sardinia's capital from 1324-1848 after which the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia's capital was Turin, Italy. His purpose in visiting Cagliari was to venerate the statue of Mary at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria, the namesake of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Pope Francis visited Assisi on 4 October 2013 to pay tribute to St. Francis of Assisi, traveling by helicopter for an eleven-hour visit. The Holy Father visited disabled cared for at the Serifico Institute. Among the basilicas and cathedrals visited were the Church of St. Damian where St. Francis heard the words from a cross, "Francis rebuild My Church." He also visited the residence of Assisi's archbishop located in the building where Francis tore off his clothes to embrace a life of poverty. Pope Francis then visited St. Francis' tomb in the lower Basilica of St. Francis and celebrated Mass in the square in front of the lower and upper basilicas. He later visited San Rufino Cathedral where St. Francis and St. Clare were baptized, the Basilica of St. Clare, and the Basilica of St. Mary and the Angels where he prayed at the Porziuncola, the stone chapel built by St. Francis and his followers. As the first pope with the name, Francis, the visit to Assisi was obviously a trip of personal significance for Pope Francis and for St. Francis of Assisi as a patron saint of Italy, along with St. Catherine of Siena., also a patron saint of Italy. Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 1579 - 1580a Date Issued - 21 November 2014 Face Value - €0,70, €0,85 Perforations - 13.65 x 13.77 Printing Process - Offset Printer - Printex (Malta) Max Printed - 150,000 |
| (Source - Vatican Notes: Volume: 63 Issue: 363 Page: 4-6) |
