VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Issuing a Vatican postage stamp celebrating the 40th anniversary of full diplomatic relations between the United States and the Holy See is a sign of the importance the Vatican attributes to their relationship, said the president of the commission governing Vatican City State.
"Celebrating the event with a stamp is like producing a small work of art that will travel the world and bring the message entrusted to it, as a kind of manifesto," Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, commission president, said at a Vatican news conference to present the stamp and day-of-issue postmark Sept. 16.
Laura Hochla, chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, told Catholic News Service that the commemorative stamp "is such a beautiful gesture."
"Mail is something that unites, usually two individuals or two institutions, despite the miles, despite the distance," she said, and the mail overcomes all adversity as exemplified in the U.S. Postal Service creed: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night" can keep mail couriers from finishing their rounds.
"So a stamp is a perfect way to show the diplomatic relations and the strength of our relationship with the Vatican," she said.
"The decision to dedicate a philatelic issue (stamp) to the anniversary is certainly a sign of the attention and importance that the Holy See and Vatican City State attribute to these diplomatic relations," Cardinal Vérgez said in his speech.
"A letter is a gift. Especially when most of the mail is bills!" Hochla said in her speech. She reminisced about growing up in rural New Mexico and noted how important local mail carriers are in linking Americans together over such a vast continent.
"Especially in the digitized world we live in today, governed by lightning-fast exchanges, where it is so quick and easy to send a simple message, the enduring beauty of a postal item stands out even more in our eyes," she said.
The 2.45-euro ($2.75) stamp features the seal of the Holy See and the seal of the United States tied together with yellow and gold ribbons for the Vatican and red, white and blue ribbons for the United States.
The stamp features the years 1984 and 2024 and notes it is the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
The Vatican post office began selling the stamp Sept. 16, and the post office located by the Arch of the Bells in St. Peter's Square was offering special cancellations for collectors Sept. 16 and 17.
The Vatican and the U.S. government announced the establishment of full diplomatic relations Jan. 10, 1984. Two months later, the Senate confirmed President Ronald Reagan's choice of William A. Wilson as the first U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, and a few weeks later St. John Paul II appointed then-Archbishop Pio Laghi as the first pro-nuncio to the United States.
"For Vatican City State, this cooperation means being fully committed to defending the human dignity and rights of each person, promoting justice and defending the truth," Cardinal Vérgez said.
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