53rd International Eucharistic Congress - Quito 2024 - €3.70

"Fraternity to Heal the World" – "You are all brothers (Mt 23:8)" will be the theme of the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place from September 8 to 15, 2024, in Quito, Ecuador, marking the 150th anniversary of the country's consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. ‘Brotherhood’ - reads the basic text of the Congress prepared by the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses - "is the challenge of our century, a dream that permeates the whole of humanity. It is not a utopia, but rather an opportunity to realise the vocation of every person: the call to encounter others". It is not only a matter of healing relations between the different peoples inhabiting the face of the earth, but also of healing those wounds in the human heart that hinder peace and reconciliation. The souvenir sheet dedicated to the meeting reproduces a watercolour by Mauri Virtanen depicting the Basilica del Voto Nacional in Quito, erected on the occasion of the consecration of the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Also by the same artist is the skyline of the Ecuadorian capital depicted in one of the two values on the sheet. The second value depicts the logo of the Congress, the work of Publio Enrique Escobar Chiriboga, in which the cross, the heart, the Host and the city of Quito appear: the Cross of Christ enters the flesh of the world to heal the wounds opened by sin, with open arms embracing all as brothers reconciled with the Father. The open Heart of Christ on the Cross is the source of the love that makes all things new. His wound is the source of life and reconciliation. The Host, on the other hand, refers to the Eucharist which is the summit and source of all Christian life and at the same time the bond of fraternity. The lines at the bottom represent the city of Quito, widening its tent to become an immense Eucharistic city where we are all invited to participate in the dream of brotherhood.