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The New WYD Stamp Is Out!

Lou Giorgetti


2023 World Youth Day (WYD/GMG)
Reissued Stamp

On Thursday, July 6, the Vatican’s Commercializzazione Filatelica e Numismatica (CFN) released the much-anticipated reissue for the 2023 World Youth Day stamp, which commemorates the upcoming celebration in Lisbon, Portugal on August 1 to August 6.

The new stamp features the World Youth Day logo, which shows a stylized profile of the Blessed Virgin Mary, along with rosary beads, against a green and red cross. The stamp was printed by Belgian Post Group (BPOST), and the logo was designed by Portuguese artist Beatriz Roque Antunes. As of yesterday’s release, there was not much in the way of technical information regarding the stamp on the CFN website. The original WYD stamp, released on May 16, was removed from sale on May 18 due to the controversial nature of the original stamp design.

The WYD festival was originally scheduled be held in 2022 but was postponed one year due to the effects of the COVID pandemic. When he announced the event in 2019, Pope Francis stated the theme of the event would be:
Mary arose and went with haste (Luke 1:39)

which marked the start of Mary’s visitation with her cousin Elizabeth. The pope also called on Catholics to prepare for World Youth Day by meditating on two scriptural passages:

Young man, I say to you, Arise! (Luke 7:14); and

Stand up. I appoint you as a witness of what you have seen (from Acts 26:16).

The patrons of the WYD celebration are four Catholic figures who, in their youth, took decisive steps in the path of holiness:

Francisco and Jacinta Marto (Messengers of Our Lady of Fatima)
Mary of the Divine Heart (Sister of the Good Shepherd and Messenger of the Sacred Heart)
Alexandrina of Balazar (Salesian Cooperator and Messenger of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)

In spite of the importance of World Youth Day, of which the 2023 Lisbon WYD is the 37th such festival, for philatelists the stamp issued for the day will be forever remembered for the controversy surrounding the original stamp and the creation of a very rare philatelic item (with only 1200-2000 of the original stamps estimated to have entered circulation).

REFERENCES:

CFN.va, July 6, 2023, XXXVII GMG Lisbona (2)

Wikipedia, World Youth Day 2023

Publico.pt, Beatriz is Portuguese and created the logo for World Youth Day 2023