Fourth Quarter 2023 Vatican Stamp Releases

On November 23, the Commercializzazione Filatelica e Nusmismatica (CFN) released the final stamp issues for 2023. There are seven new philatelic items now available for purchase: Don Lorenzo Milani is honored on the 2023 aerogramme, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of his birth. The aerogramme, denominated at 2.45 euro, features a close-up of Don Lorenzo, an Italian priest and educator, on the left-hand side of the cover. The postal indicia in the upper right corner shows a view of Barbiana, the site of his most significant work. This is the second time Don Lorenzo has been depicted on a Vatican City philatelic release, the first being a stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of his death (Scott 1658, 2017). The beatification of Cardinal Eduardo Francisco Pironio is announced on a single 2.45-euro stamp, which depicts a smiling Cardinal Pironio and lists the date of his upcoming beatification on December 16, 2023. Born in Argentina in 1920, he served in a number of capacities within the Roman Curia from 1975 until 1996, including being the Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina-Poggio from 1995 until his death in 1998. His remains are interred in the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján in Argentina. Alessandro Manzoni, the renowned Italian writer, poet and playwright, is honored on a 1.30-euro stamp which is being issued as a part of a six-stamp minisheet commemorating the 150th anniversary of his death. Perhaps his best-known work is I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed). The stamp depicts an image of the author on a book cover, with the novel’s main characters emerging from the open book. The background shows Lake Como, the setting for parts of the novel. The minisheet features a large undenominated label with an image similar to the stamp and an inscription from I Promessi Sposi : ‘I have never found that the Lord began a miracle without finishing it well’. The 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Korea is commemorated in a two-stamp set. The roots of Christianity on the Korean Peninsula date to the late 18th century. The first Korean Christian was baptized in 1784, and the Apostolic Vicariate of Korea was established in 1831. The stamps of this issue show a photo of the pope with a young Korean woman taken during the World Youth Day celebration in Lisbon earlier this year (1.25 euro), and a photo taken during Pope Francis’s visit to Korea in 2014 (1.30 euro). The International Journeys of Pope Francis in 2022 are remembered on a minisheet denominated at 2.45 euro. The sheet has a single stamp in the middle, showing Pope Francis giving his blessings. The stamp is surrounded by images from the four countries he visited last year. The panels show Saint Paul’s Grotto in Rabat, Malta (April 2-3); the pope greeting a Native American while in Canada (July 24-30); the Qazaq Concert Hall in Kazakhstan (September 13-15); and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Bahrain (November 3-6). The minisheet A Symbolic Pilgrimage Around the World on Our Way to the Jubilee 2025: America is the fourth release in a series in preparation for the Jubilee Year starting next Christmas. The minisheet, denominated at 3.20 euro, shows a caravan of pilgrims, and features an image of the icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron of all Spanish-speaking peoples and of the American continent. One clear reference to the American continent is the silhouette of a Native American with a feathered headdress. The view of the globe behind the stamp focuses on the American continents. Christmas 2023 is celebrated on a two-stamp set, as well as in the annual Christmas stamp booklet. The stamps depict the Greccio Nativity Scene, generally considered the first nativity scene dating back 800 years to 1223. While traveling to Greccio, Saint Francis of Assisi recreated the Christmas of Bethlehem. In that grotto, a small Chapel of the Nativity was built in the year of his canonization in 1228. The stamps of this year’s set feature two paintings by Piero Casentini: Saint Francis celebrating the Feast of the Nativity in Greccio (1.25 euro) and The Adoration of the Magi (1.30 euro). The stamp booklet contains two sets of stamps, with the booklet cover showing a detail of the painting The Miracle of Greccio by Franciscan friar Michelangelo Cianti. These stamps are now available for purchase and can be viewed by clicking on the CFN website reference below. Members should be on the look-out for notifications from CFN. REFERENCES: Commercializzazione Filatelica e Nusmismatica (CFN) website, www.cfn.va/en/195-ultima-emissione Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search