VATICAN CITY STATE - Popes during 1929 to 1979

The four stamps on this FDC depict a view of Vatican City (50), and portray three Popes during the period 1929 to 1979. The other three stamps comprising the full set of 7 stamps portray three other popes who were leading the Papacy during the period 1929 to 1979.

(70) Pope Saint John XXIII ( born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli,  (25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963) reigned as Pope from 28 October 1958 to his death in 1963 and was canonized on 27 April 2014. 

(120) Pope Paul VI   born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (26 September 1897 – 6 August 1978), reigned as Pope from 21 June 1963 to his death in 1978. 

Pope John Paul I  born Albino Luciani (17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978), served as Pope from 26 August 1978 to his sudden death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes, the first to occur since 1605.

(150) Pope Saint John Paul II born Karol Józef Wojtyła (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), served as Pope from 1978 to 2005. He is referred to by Catholics as St. John Paul the Great, especially in naming institutions.

He was elected by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who was elected in August after the death of Pope Paul VI, died after thirty-three days. 

Thank you Merja.

Airmail Service between Vatican City and Częstochowa 2.6.1979

Częstochowa is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants as of June 2009. It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (administrative division) since 1999, and was previously the capital of the Częstochowa Voivodeship (1975–1998). However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not of Silesia, and before 1795 (see: Partitions of Poland), it belonged to the Kraków Voivodeship. Częstochowa is located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. It is the 13th most populous city in Poland. It is the largest economic, cultural and administrative hub in the northern part of the Silesian Voivodeship.

The city is known for the famous Pauline monastery of Jasna Góra, which is the home of the Black Madonna painting, a shrine to the Virgin Mary.

In modern times, Pope John Paul II, a native son of Poland, prayed before the Madonna during his historic visit in 1979, several months after his election to the Chair of Peter. The Pope made another visit to Our Lady of Częstochowa in 1983 and again in 1987, 1991, 1997 and 1999. On August 15, 1991, John Paul II was named Honorary Citizen of Częstochowa. On May 26, 2006, the city was visited by Pope Benedict XVI.

Airmail Service between The Vatican and the United Nations 2.10.1979

This cover was issued by the Vatican on 2.10.1979 to commemorate the Airmail Service between The Vatican and the United Nations in New York.

Thank you Merja.

Pope Paul II visit to France 2.6.1980

This stamp and FDC were issued by The Vatican when Pope Paul II returned after his visit to France.

During his reign, Pope John Paul II ("The Pilgrim Pope") made 104 foreign trips, more than all previous popes combined. In total he logged more than 1,167,000 km (725,000 mi). He consistently attracted large crowds on his travels, some among the largest ever assembled. While some of his trips (such as to the United States and the Holy Land) were to places previously visited by Pope Paul VI (the first pope to travel widely), many others were to countries that no pope had ever previously visited.

On 2 June 1980, he made a pilgrimage to Lisieux in northern France, the home town of St. Therese of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face.

 

Thank you Merja.

Christmas stamps as a joint venture with the Vatican 8.11.2013

On 8 November, Aland Post issued two Christmas stamps as a joint venture with the Vatican. Both motifs are very well suited for franking Christmas greetings posted from Aland as well as the Vatican.

The two Aland stamps feature the Nativity of Jesus. The first stamp features the infant Jesus lying on a felt with adoring Virgin Mary close by. Another stamp shows the Adoration of the Magi with one of the three wise men paying homage to infant Jesus in the arms of Virgin Mary.

The two masterpieces are on display in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. The frescos were created by the Italian painter Pinturicchio in the late 15th century. The Vatican State will be issuing two stamps with the exact same motifs.

Aland Post and Poste Vaticane are both members of SEPAC (Small European Postal Administrations’ Cooperation), which led to this unique joint venture. A joint presentation pack with both stamp issues is also planned.

New technology is also embedded in the stamps. A special application is planned to become available for download from both App Store and Google Play. By starting the application and scanning the stamps with a smartphone or tablet PC, a photo slideshow featuring specially composed Christmas music will open.

Thank you Ella for this wonderful set of stamps and fdc's from Aland.