(16-10-2020) CENT. NASCITA S. GIOVANNI PAOLO II (SCV) - MF

“Saint John Paul II was an extraordinary gift of God to the Church and to Poland, your motherland. His earthly pilgrimage, which began on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice and ended 15 years ago in Rome, was marked by his passion for life and by a fascination with the mystery of God, of the world and of humankind.” This is an excerpt from the video message that Pope Francis sent to the young people of the Archdiocese of Krakow in preparation for the centenary of the birth of St. John Paul II. In a joint issue with Poland, the birthplace of Saint John Paul II, the Vatican celebrates this anniversary with a miniature sheet consisting of six values of € 1.15 and six envelope seals. The stamp depicts the smiling and joyful face of Pope John Paul II, drawing inspiration from a photo taken during the 1986 pilgrimage to Australia. The lilies that make up the ornamental elements in the background, symbolizing honesty, chastity, and purity, are a clear reference to the Virgin Mary, to whom the Pope was very devoted and entrusted his Petrine ministry. Lastly, the envelope seals give us other images of St. John Paul II in some key moments of his life: as a child next to his mother, as a cardinal next to the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and, lastly, as Pope in St. Peter’s Square.