We are definitely in the “dog days” of summer—it’s been hot everywhere. This may be the reason why there is not much news to report. The pope has taken up residence at Castel Gandolfo for his summer hiatus from Rome, prior to launching a series of trips across Italy in August, including a “foreign visit” to San Marino. But we did get one surprise last week… Without any formal announcement or fanfare, the 2026 Vatican City Philatelic Program has added six new stamps to be released in the second half of the year. These stamps are: The Program does not give any indication of release dates or details on the stamps or their designs. With four of the six stamps being joint issues, it is likely at least a few of these stamps will be released outside of the normal quarterly Vatican City stamp issuance schedule, with the next tranche due in September. We will be on the lookout for the stamps as they hit the market. Here is a link to the updated 2026 Vatican City Philatelic Program: LINK |