Popes on the Stamps of Vatican City:
Pope John Paul II

John Paul II: Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła was elected pope in October of 1978. He took the name John Paul II, and with that began a pontificate that lasted over 26 years, making him the third-longest serving pope (after Saint Peter and Pope Pius IX). The first non-Italian pope in over 400 years, the remarkable reign of John Paul II occurred during, and undoubtedly influenced, great changes around the world, the most transformative event being the fall of communism in Europe. He would travel extensively, making 104 foreign trips to visit 129 countries during his pilgrimage voyages. It can be argued that he was perhaps the person seen by the most people “in person” in world history. He is pictured on more stamps issued by Vatican City than any other individual or event, including Jesus! Following his death in 2005, the case for his sainthood was quickly initiated, culminating in his canonization in 2014. There are literally hundreds of Vatican City stamps and labels, postal cards and other philatelic items featuring Pope John Paul II. Many of those stamps memorialize his pilgrimage visits, both within Italy and to foreign countries. Some of the many stamps which picture Pope John Paul II are shown below. Election of Pope John Paul II 150th Anniversary of the L'Osservatore Romano Issue Scott 1478i (2011) Inauguration of Pope John Paul II Scott 645-647 (1979) SOME OF THE MANY COUNTRIES VISITED BY POPE JOHN PAUL II (1979 to 2004): 1979: Dominican Republic: First foreign country visited (Scott C66, 1980) 1980: France/UNESCO (Scott 701, 1981) 1981: Japan (Scott 740, 1984) 1982: Fatima, Portugal (Scott 743, 1984) 1983: Poland (Scott C76, 1986) 1984: Canada (Scott C81, 1986) 1985: Africa (Scott 797, 1987) 1986: India (Scott 799, 1987) 1987: Germany (Scott C84, 1988) 1988: South America (Scott 845, 1989) 1989: Scandinavia (Scott C89, 1990 1990: Malta (Scott 893, 1991) 1991: Czechoslovakia and Hungary (Scott C94, 1992) 1992: Africa (Scott 936, 1993) 1993: Jamaica, Mexico and Denver, USA (Scott 966, 1994) 1994: Croatia (Scott 1000, 1995) 1995: United Nations/United States (Scott 1027, 1996) 1996: Tunisia (Scott 1057, 1997) 1997: Beirut, Lebanon (Scott 1091, 1998) 1998: Cuba (Scott 1118, 1999) 1999: India and Georgia (Scott 1167e, 2000) 2000: Jerusalem (Scott 1190, 2001) 2001: Ukraine (Scott 1234, 2002) 2002: Bulgaria and Azerbaijan (Scott 1253, 2003) 2003: Poland: Last of nine visits to homeland (Scott 1265b, 2004) 2004: Lourdes, France: Last foreign trip (Scott 1310, 2005) Pope John Paul II: 50th Anniversary of Ordination Scott 1013 (1996) Italia ’98 World Philatelic Exhibition Scott 1085 (1998) Pope John Paul II: 80th Birthday Scott 1153-1155 (2000) Pope John Paul II: 25th Anniversary of Papacy Scott 1236 (2003) Beatification of Pope John Paul II Scott 1471 (2011) Canonization of Pope John Paul II Scott 1558a and 1559 (2014)