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On April 11, 1960, three stamps were issued under Ordinance XVI of the same date to commemorate this event. The designs were by Casimira Dabrowska and the work of engraving was done by Mario Columbati (L.15), Mazzini Canfarini (L.35) and Vittorio Nicastro (L.60). The values of L.15 and L.60 were recessed printed on paper with the 01 crossed keys watermark in panes of 45 (9 x 5) and linear perforated 13 1/4. The L.35 was recess printed on paper with 02 crossed keys water-mark by rotary press in panes of 30 and comb perforated 13 1/4 by 14. There were 1,100,000 complete sets printed and they remained valid until March 31, 1961. The L.15 stamp bears the legend; "Cardinal Joseph Sarto Departs from Venice to Participate in the Conclave". The date given on the stamp is XXVII-VI-MCMIII (June 27, 1903). According to several biographies the date should have been XXVI-VII-MCMI (July 26, 1903) and several writers in Italian stamp papers suggested that there had been a transposition of numerals in the original design which was not detected until the stamps were printed. But designer Dabrowska in a letter of Feb. 2, 1961 to the editor merely stated; "The date given is authentic". The design on the L.I5 is modeled after "a photograph that the Vatican wanted, and sent me. Vatican left me free for the composition of the attendants of the leaving of the Cardinal, because nobody remembered who were in this time (of the leaving) near him". (Same letter). Since those who had been present were probably dead and there was no record of those in attendance available, the composition of the design was left to the artistic taste of Miss Dabrowska. Actually, the design resembles a photo of the Patriarch before the Scuola di San Rocco in Venice, as he leaves the building of the Scuola where he has Just celebrated Mass on August 16, the Feast of St. Rocco, as it was the tradition for the Patriarch of Venice to do each year. The year of this picture in given in "Pius X" (Von Matt) as 1902, but in"Pius X" (Giordano) as 1896. A photo of the actual scene of departure from the gondola to the mole in front of the railway station is hardly artistic, because it shows the Patriarch gingerly stepping from the shaky gondola to the mole. Miss Dabrowska in using the photo supplied by the Vatican presents a much more dignified and artistic scene. The name "Scuola" used in regards to San Rocco refers to a religious confraternity or charitable guind, which erected and occupies the building depicted. The Scuola di San Rocco was instituted in 1478 for the purpose of attending to the poor and the sick, especially those ill from the plague. Its patron, San Rocco (St. Roch, St. Rock) was born at Montpelier and on a pilgrimage to Rome in the 14th century nursed those sick of the plague while he was in Italy. The building was erected 1524-60, designed by Bartolomeo Buon of Bergamo. The great halls are decorated by 56 paintings of Tintoretto, which took 18 years to execute, and are well known to students and lovers of art. Giusepni Melchiore Sarto was ordained a priest on September 18, 1858; he was a curate at Tombolo 1858-67; a parish priest at Salzano 1867-75; a canon, chancellor and rector of the seminary at Treviso 1875-84; the bishop of Mantua 1884-93. The Patriarchate of Venice had been vacant for three years. This post had been refused by Bishop Sarto and others, but at the direct request of Pope Leo XIII, Bishop Sarto accepted out of obedience in 1893. Because of objections from the Italian Government, he was not able to take over the See of Venice for 17 months. Italy dropped its objections on September 7, 1894, and the new Patriarch entered Venice on November 24, 1894. He learned to love the Venetians and they returned his love. Pope Leo XIII died on July 20, 1903 and the conclave for the election of his successor was to begin cn July 31, 1903. (This makes the July 26 date more believable). Since he had been made a cardinal in mid-June of 1903, the Patriarch was due at the conclave, and with Corrowed money he bought a round-trip ticket to Rome. The crowd which gathered at the railroad station shouted: "Come back to us! Come back to us!" From the window of his coach Card. Sarto answered:"Dead or alive, I shall come back." This was on July 26. On August 4, 1903, he was elected Pope Pius X. While alive he was never able to come back to Venice, because as Pope he became a voluntary prisoner inside the Vatican, after the example set by Pope Pius IX and followed by Pope Leo XIII, in protest over the seizure by arms of the Pdntifical State by the Kingdom of Italy, a situation which remained unresolved until Pope Pius XI in 1929. The L.35 bears the inscription: "Pope John XXIII Venerates the Remains of St. Pius X About to Depart for Venice, April 11, 1959". The body of St. Pius X left Vatican City on that date and arrived by rail at Venice on the next day, April 12. Of this scene Miss Dabrowska writes (same letter): Pope Giovanni XXIII praying at the side of the body of St. Pius X is authentic - and this scene takes place in the wagon in the Vatican City - and the date of the leaving is authentic too". For nearly a century no pope had been buried in the crypt of St. Peters, but Pius X requested that be be interred in a secluded part of the crypt. On August 22, 1914, his body was placed in a temporary tomb marked with a cross and his name. The marble tomb in the crypt was ready in December of 1914. In 1923 the cardinals who resided in Rome introduced the cause of Pope Pius X for beatification. By 1931 the preparatory processes were finished by tribunals set up in Treviso, Mantua and Venice for this purpose. The next step was begun by Pope Pius XII with the setting up of a fourth tribunal at Rome in 1943. In May, 1944, there was a canonical inspection of the tomb of Pius X and the body was found incorrupt, though the face was somewhat shrunken. While excavations ordered by Pope Pius XII were taking place near the tomb of St. Peter in May 1944, the body of Pope Pius X was placed in the Chapel of the Holy Cross in the right aisle of St. Peters. In June of that year it was exposed to the public view, at which time the editor viewed the body, having entered Rome with the 5th Army shortly after the fall of Rome. On July 2 the body was returned to the crypt. In 1945 the body of Pius X was brought to a tomb prepared for it in a small chapel near the Chapel of the presentation of Our Lady in the Temple, in the left aisle of St. Peters. On Sept. 30, 1950, Pope Pius XII declared Pope Pius X Venerable, and on June 3, 1951, declared him Blessed (Cf. Vol. VI #4, p.3, Vatican Notes) A mask of silver was placed over the face of Pope Pius X and coverings of silver and bronze over his hands for the ceremonies of Beatificaion. On Feb.7, 1952, the remains of Blessed Pius X were placed in a glass casket under the altar in the Chapel of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple. The Bronze work on the casket was done by Francesco Nagni. The winged figures at the corners symbolize the cardinal moral virtues: Justice, Temperance, Prudence and Fortitude, while on the tablet at the base are figures representing the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. After his canonization on Saturday, May 29, 1954, his body was taken in solemn procession, after a solemn pontifical Mass in his honor, on Sunday, May 30, to the basilica of St. Mary Major, where it lay in state for three days, a solemn triduum of thanksgiving (Cf. Vatican Notes Vol.VII #2 p.8) The coffin appears on the stamp, and the scene from the stamp, as stated above, is from the inside of the railway coach, which took the body of Pope St. Pius X to Venice, and it shows Pope John XXIII kneeling beside it in prayer, just before the train departed from the Vatican City railway station for Venice, where Pope John himself had been Patriarch before being elected Pope The L.60 shows the Piazzetta, or small square, between the Ducal Palace and the Library at Venice, which is an extention of the Piazza San Marco toward the canal, the principal entrance to Venice from the sea. It was from this point on the mole of the Canal San Marco that the armies of the Republic of Venice departed on their expeditions to the east, and here they returned with the spoils of their conquests. To the left of the scene on the stamp lies the Piazza San Marco and the Church of St. Mark. Across the Canal San Marco can be seen the Island and Church of San Giorgio Maggiore. The Church of San Giorgio was begun by Palladio in 1566 and continued after his death by Antonio Palliani, who designed the facade, To the left is the campanine of 195 feet from which one gets the best view of Venice. In this church at the end of 1799 took place the conclave that elected Pope Pius VII (Scott #246) and there in January of 1800 he was crowned Pope. The left of the picture shows the Ducal Palace, ravaged by storms and floods in November of 1966. It was built in 820 for Doge Angelo Partizipazio, the first ruler of the Venetian colonists. It was enlarged in the 12th century under Doge Sebastiano Ziani. Partially destroyed by fire in 1419, it was rebuilt by Doge Foscari. Most of the interior is decorated by famous painters including Tiepolo, Veronese, Titian, Caliari, Palma, Tintoretto, Vincenzio and Bassano. The south wing facing the canal is by Bassegio, built 1309-40. The west wing on the stamp is by Giovanni and Bartolomeo Buon, built 1424-38. The east wing toward the Bridge of Sighs was begun by Antonio Rizzo in 1484, continued by Pietro Lombardo and completed by Scarpagnini in 1549. The stumpy effect of the lower pillars facing the Piazzetta is due to the raising of the pavement. The Palace was the official residence for the Doges, the seat of Government for the Venetian Republic and the scene of all state affairs and councils. The capitals of the 36 pillars supporting the palace have finely carved figures symbolic of vices, virtues and the planets. Story has it that in the days of the Venetian Republic, death sentences were passed while standing between the ninth and tenth pilars from the main door, which are red marble. In the Piazzetta stand two columns brought from Constantinople in 1187. On the left column is the Lion of St. Mark with his paws on the open book of the Gospel of St. Mark, who is the parton saint of Venice. On the right column is the statue of St. Theodore, patron saint of the Venetian Republic, who was a soldier in Asia Minor. Be is represented with sword and shield, his foot on a crocodile. Since a legend which predates that of St. George has St. Theodore fighting with the dragon, one wonders if the crocodile is meant to represent a dragon. At one time there stood between the two columns a scaffold for the execution of criminals. The Body of St. Pius X arrived in Venice by train on April 12, 1959, and was carried by the Great Gondola or Barge from the railway station up the Grand Canal to the Canal San Marco and the body was disembarked as we see it on the stamp. In the procession which accompanied the body to the Church of St. Mark can be seen bishops, diocesan priests and religious, members of the Noble Guard and the faithful. At the side stand members of the Italian Carabinieri at present arms. The body of Pope St. Pius X remained in Venice for a month, allowing sufficient time for all to see and venerate it. Then it was returned to Rome on May 11, 1959, and it was replaced in St. Peters Basilica. Alive, Cardinal Sarto could not fulfill his promise given at the railway station: "Dead or alive, I shall be back." But in death his promise was kept by the return of his relics to his beloved Venetians, now the relics of a saint. Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 281 - 283 Date Issued - 11 April 1960 Face Value - 15 l, 35 l, 60 l Perforations - 13 Printer - The Italian State Printing Works |
| (From Vatican Notes Volume XVI, Number 3, November - December 1967, Pages 5-7) |
