Popes on the Stamps of Vatican City:
Popes of the Holy Years (1750-2000)

The popes presented in today's excerpt were depicted in the last of the Vatican City stamps sets entitled "Popes of the Holy Years". This set was released in the Holy Year of 2000, and it consisted of nine stamps and one souvenir sheet, portraying the nine popes who presided over the Holy Years of 1750 through 2000. The popes in this issue that served as pope from 1900 to 2000 will be covered in greater detail in subsequent reviews. Benedict XIV: the Holy Year of 1750 was proclaimed by Pope Benedict XIV, who served as pope from 1740 to 1758. A scholarly pope with many academic interests, spanning the study of the human body, art, and theology. He established the Sacred and Profane Museums, now part of the Vatican Museums: Pope Benedict XIV: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Scott 1141 (2000) Pius VI: this pope opened the Holy Year of 1775, and served as pope from 1775 to 1799. In 1789, he established the first Catholic diocese in America in Baltimore. As a result of the French Revolution (and its suppression of the Catholic Church in France), the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Papal States in 1796. In 1798, Pius VI was taken prisoner and moved to France, where he died in 1799. In addition to the stamp and label from the "Popes of the Holy Years" issue, Pope Pius VI appears on two additional stamps: one from the "Popes of Saint Peter's Basilica" set (Scott 168) and a second from the Antonio Canova set of 1958 (Scott 245). Those stamps will be shown in future articles. Pope Pius VI: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Scott 1142 (2000) Leo XII: as pope from 1823 to 1829, Pope Leo XII oversaw the first Holy Year in 50 years, as a Holy Year for 1800 was not proclaimed due to the occupation of Rome by the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte. Leo XII was a sickly man who, despite serving as pope for close to six years, did not distinguish himself: Pope Leo XII: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Scott 1143 (2000) Pius IX: serving as pope from 1846 to 1878, Pius IX’s 32-year reign is the second-longest papacy (after Saint Peter). One of his major proclamations was that of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, issued in 1854. The temporal power of the Holy See ended in 1870 with the unification of Italy and the fall of the Papal States. There was no Holy Year of 1850, and the Holy Year of 1875 was muted, as Pope Pius IX remained within the confines of the Vatican as a “prisoner of Rome”. In addition to the stamp and label from the "Popes of the Holy Years" issue, Pope Pius IX appears in three additional stamp sets, shown below: Pope Pius IX: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Scott 1144 (2000) Pope Pius IX: Centenary of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception Scott 176, 178 and 180 (1954) Pope Pius IX: Centenary of Saint Peter's Circle Scott 476 (1969) Pope Pius IX: Centenary of Death Scott 632-634 (1978) Leo XIII: the 20th century opened with the Holy Year of 1900 under the auspices of Pope Leo XIII, whose papacy spanned 25 years from 1878 to 1903. When he died at the age of 93, he was the oldest pope by age and currently claims the fourth-longest papal reign: Pope Leo XIII: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Scott 1145 (2000) Pius XI: the Bishop of Rome from 1922 to 1939, Pius XI proclaimed the Holy Year of 1925. The singular event of his papacy was the establishment of the Vatican City State in 1929, returning temporal power to the Holy See and ending the 59-year “Question of the Vatican”: Pope Pius XI: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Scott 1146 (2000) Pius XII: as pope from 1939 to 1958, Pius XII guided the Church through World War II, a period of some controversy to this day. He proclaimed the Holy Year of 1950. The image of Pope Pius XII appears on many stamps issued by Vatican City. One example is shown below; in addition to the stamp and label from the "Popes of the Holy Years" issue of 2000, Pope Pius XII appears on two stamps from the set released for the Holy Year 1950: Pope Pius XII: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Scott 1147 (2000) Pope Pius XII: Opening the Holy Door for the Holy Year of 1950 Scott 135 and 139 (1950) Paul VI: sometimes referred to as the “Pilgrim Pope”, Paul VI was the first pope to venture outside of Italy in over a century and eventually made nine papal pilgrimages during his papacy, which ran from 1963 to 1978. He presided over the Holy Year of 1975, and one stamp issued for the Holy Year of 1975 pictures Pope Paul VI, in addition to the stamp and label from the "Popes of the Holy Years" issue of 2000: Pope Paul VI: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Scott 1148 (2000) Pope Paul VI: Giving His Blessing, Holy Year of 1950 Scott 571 (1975) John Paul II: pope from 1978 to 2005, a span of 26+ years and the third-longest papacy, Pope John Paul II opened the 21st century with the Holy Year of 2000. The history and philately of John Paul II is voluminously documented. Following his death, he was beatified and then canonized as Saint Pope John Paul II in 2014. He appears on a stamp and label for the "Popes of the Holy Years" issue of 2000, as well as the souvenir sheet for that release: Pope John Paul II: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Scott 1149 (2000) Pope John Paul II: Popes and the Holy Years Issue Souvenir Sheet Scott 1150 (2000)