World Youth Day 2016
Krakow, Poland

World Youth Day is an international gathering of Catholic young people (typically ages 16-30) from around the world held approximately every 2-3 years in varying host countries. It began with Pope St. John Paul II in 1984 as an outreach to the youth of the world and an invitation to an encounter with the Pope and other young people. The first World Youth Day was held in Rome, Italy in 1986. World Youth Day 2016 was held in Krakow, Poland 25-31 July. Pope Francis attended WYD during the final four days of the event. An estimated three million people attended. Young people from many different countries around the world took part in the week-long event that ended with an open-air mass led by Pope Francis at Campus Misericordiae. The theme for the 2016 World Youth Day was "Blessed Are the Merciful, For They Shall Obtain Mercy", tying in closely with the Year of Mercy. The Pope announced that the next World Youth Day will take place in Panama, Central America in 2019. Monika Rybczyńska designed a mini sheet and a souvenir sheet which were a joint issue with Poland. The mini sheet contains four €1,00 stamps. It depicts Pope Francis with a group of young people of different ethnic backgrounds reflecting the international aspect of WYD. A WYD prayer is printed on the left side of the mini sheet with a shaded Wawel Cathedral (Krakow, Poland) in the background. The souvenir sheet contains a single €4,50 stamp, an enlargement of the scene on the €1,00 design. The design incorporating the words of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as dictated by Jesus to Saint Faustina Kowalska in 1935 is engraved above the heads of the young people. The World Youth Day cross/logo appears on the left side of both sheets. 100,000 souvenir sheets and 280,000 stamps were issued. Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 1626 - 1627 Date Issued - 10 May 2016 Face Value - €1,00 Perforations - 11.6x12.1 Printing Process - Rotogravure + Engraving Printer - PWPW (Poland) Max Printed - 280,000 Joint Issue - Poland

(Source - Vatican Notes: Volume: 64 Issue: 369 Page: 4-6 en.wikipedia.org)