Vatican Pulls Stamp from Sales

The Vatican Post Office released a stamp to celebrate World Youth Day on May 16th, 2023. This stamp depicts an image of Pope Francis with young people that very much resembles the "Padrao dos Descobrimentos" (Monument of the Discoveries) statue in Lisbon Portugal. It seems that having a stamp that resembled a monument that promoted the propaganda of a former dictatorship "raised controversies" within the Portuguese church. Some complained that the resemblance celebrates Portugal’s colonial empire and the nationalist dictatorship of Antonio Salazar while the Holy See has been atoning for colonial-era abuses. So, by May 18th, the Vatican Post Office pulled the stamp from its sales counters and canceled further sales. To see an image of the stamp, click on the link below for the article from the National Catholic Reporter. A check of the CFN website shows that the stamp is no longer displayed for sale (the other stamps released on May 16 are shown). Some VPS members have reported placing orders with CFN for the second quarter of 2023 while the stamp was available, and it appears CFN fulfilled in their orders. However one views this, the Vatican Post Office has probably just created a very expensive item that few collectors will have in their stamp albums. In fact, VPS member Dennis Oniszczak reported on May 28 that three listings for the stamp appeared on the Hip Stamp website with prices ranging from $372 to $474 each--more than 100 times the face value of the stamp! REFERENCES: Justin McLennan, National Catholic Reporter, May 18, 2023, Vatican Reportedly Pulls Controversial World Youth Day Stamp CFN Website, www.cfn.va, 2023 Philately