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 Sixth Centenary of the Institution of The Feast of the Visitation Scott 826-828 (1989) The Feast of the Visitation is celebrated on May 31. The 1989 Vatican stamp set shown above commemorates the 600th anniversary of the institution of the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Pope Boniface IX. The Feast was initially introduced by the Franciscan Order in 1263, and later extended to the entire Church in 1389. Jan Jenstein, the Archbishop of Prague in the late 14th century, was the principal promoter of the Feast and authored the illuminated manuscript “Vat. Latin 1122”, which was produced in Rome from 1397 to 1400. The images for the three stamps shown above come from that manuscript, which is housed in the Vatican Apostolic Library. The stamps depict: The Feast of the Visitation remembers the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. The event is recorded in the Gospel of St. Luke (1:39-45) and is a significant part of Catholic and some Anglican traditions, serving as a reminder of Mary's humility and willingness to serve God by visiting Elizabeth. Following the Annunciation, when Mary accepts her role as the mother of Jesus Christ, she travels "in haste" to the home of her cousin Elizabeth in the town of Judah. At the time of the visit, Elizabeth was in the sixth month of her pregnancy and she would bear John the Baptist. When she was visited by Mary and was greeted by her, Elizabeth exclaims "the child leaped in (my) womb", and she says to Mary, "blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." Elizabeth then asks Mary why was "the mother of my Lord" coming to visit her. Mary then responded with the canticle known as the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56), part of which states: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed, for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name".Mary then stayed with Elizabeth for three months before returning to her home in Nazareth. Depictions of the Visitation date back to Medieval times. Here are two works of art showing the event: 
 Left: "The Embrace of Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary" (1191) Artist Unknown, St. George Church, Kurbinovo, North Macedonia Right: "The Visitation", Gerónimo Antonio de Ezquerra (circa 1730) Carmen Thyssen Museum, Magala, Spain Both from Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain REFERENCES: |
