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The much-anticipated canonizations of two young Blesseds of the Church, Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, will take place on the morning of Sunday, September 7, in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Leo XIV will celebrate the canonization Mass. On August 7, the Vatican State website posted the announcement for two new stamp issues tied to the canonizations. The stamps will be issued jointly with the postal authorities of Italy, the Republic of San Marino, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The stamps will each be denominated at €1.35. The Vatican Post Office is also planning to produce a special commemorative folder for Carlo Acutis (including his stamp, official souvenir covers, and a "day of issue" postmark). According to the announcement, the new stamps will be available for purchase immediately after the canonization. It is likely that the new stamps are being released separately from the anticipated Vatican City quarterly stamp issue in September. A similar situation took place last year, when the four postal authorities issued a stamp to commemorate the Italian Red Cross. The press release states that the design for the stamp for Pier Giorgio Frassati is based on a painting by Alberto Falchetti (1878–1951), while the Carlo Acutis stamp image is from a photograph of Carlo wearing a red shirt and carrying a backpack. The stamps “aim to pay tribute to these two young men who bore witness to Christ during their brief lives”.  Pier Giorgio Frassati From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic and was dedicated to social justice issues while striving to aid the needy and poor in his native Turin. An avid outdoorsman, he died at the age of 25 from tuberculosis.  Carlo Acutis From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain Carlo Acutis (1991-2006), dubbed the first “millennial saint”, is known for the application of his computer skills to build websites tied to the Catholic Church, one in particular to document Eucharistic miracles. Born in London and raised in Milan, he died of leukemia at the age of 15. There is sure to be more to come on both the canonization Mass and the new stamps as we approach the ceremony on September 7. REFERENCES: |
