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2020 Activities of Pope Francis: (Source: www.VaticanNews.va) 1. Prayer and Healing - In the times of the pandemic, the themes of “Prayer” and of the “Health Emergency” echoed throughout the Pope’s catechesis during the General Audiences of 2020. 2. Fratelli tutti - 2020 is the year of Pope Francis' third Encyclical: on 4 October, "Fratelli tutti" was published. In it the Pope indicates fraternity and social friendship as primary ways to build a better world. 3. Special Celebrations - The Mass for the first Sunday of the Word of God, instituted by the Pope in 2019; St. Peter's Square provided the setting for the Way of the Cross, written by inmates of a prison in northern Italy; On 12 April, Easter Sunday, Pope Francis presided over Mass in an almost empty St. Peter’s Basilica and pronounced the “Urbi et Orbi” before the Altar of Confession; St Peter’s Basilica, was where the Solemnity of Christ the King was celebrated on 22 November. During that ceremony, the Cross and the Marian Icon, symbols of World Youth Day, were handed over from the young people of Panama, the host country of WYD 2019, to the young people of Lisbon, the city that will host the event in 2023. 4. Reforms - Francis signed several documents: CCCLI Law on the Judicial System of Vatican City State; New Statute of the Financial Information Authority; Provisional Agreement Between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China. 5. Video Messages - During these 12 months, the Pope recorded numerous video messages, including those of 25 September and 10 December. In the first, Francis addresses the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations issuing a strong warning to the international community to end the arms race, protect the rights of migrants and rethink economic and financial systems. He also condemned abortion as an "essential humanitarian service". The second video message was addressed to participants in an online meeting organized by the Dicastery for the Promoting Integral Human Development on the humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq. Each year during his pontificate, UFN has released definitive set depicting Pope Francis, in values corresponding to priority postal rates for Italy, for the European Union and adjacent areas of Europe, for North and South America, and for Asia and Oceania. The stamps are printed in sheets of ten. This year's issue depicts the pope with an array of animals. The €1,10 stamp features the pope with a lamb around his shoulders, the €1,15 value shows Francis with a white dove, the €2,40 stamp shows the pope with a puppy, perhaps a spaniel or a setter, and the €3,00 value depicts Francis with a black cat, perhaps a young leopard. UFN's brochure recalls the 5th anniversary of the encyclical 'Laudato si' in which Francis reminds us to take "...to a more attentive and respectful attitude towards creation." In the Encyclical, following the biblical narrative of Creation, Pope Francis highlights how human life is grounded in three fundamental relationships: "with God, with neighbor and with the earth. Each creature has its own role, none is superfluous, and everything is a caress of God", writes Pope Francis, re-calling that "every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity. (LS 92)." Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 1735 - 1738 Date Issued - 14 February 2020 Face Value - €1,10, €1,15, €2,40, €3,00 Perforations - 13.5x13 |
| (Source - Vatican Notes: Volume: 68 Issue: 384 Page: 4-6 www.VaticanNews.va) |
