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Still nothing new from the Vatican Post Office regarding new issues. We anticipate an announcement any day regarding the next stamps to be released in September, if history is any guide. As a result, we continue to focus on the travels of Pope Leo XIV, who has a trip planned this week.   Papal Visits to San Marino: Pope John Paul II, 1982 (Scott 747, 1984) Pope Benedict XVI, 2011 (Scott 1509, 2012) On Saturday, August 22, the pope will fly by helicopter to the Republic of San Marino, the oldest republic on earth and a country landlocked within the boundaries of Italy. He is scheduled to arrive in San Marino around 9 am, with an agenda including meetings with civic authorities. San Marino is governed by a parliament, with twelve of its members comprising the “Great and General Council”. Two members of that body serve as the “Captains Regent”, the joint heads of state, for a term of six months. The pope will also go to the Basilica di San Marino (Basilica of Saint Marinus), where he will participate in a Eucharistic Adoration and veneration of the relics of Saint Marinus, the patron saint of San Marino.  Square of Liberty, San Marino (with Public Palace and Statue of Liberty) Photo by Diego Delso From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license In the afternoon, the pope will leave San Marino and travel to the Italian coastal town of Rimini (a short 20 kilometer trip), where he will participate in the annual Rimini Meeting (Meeting for Friendship Amongst Peoples) at the Children’s Village. He will visit with the faithful at the Rimini Cathedral and wrap up the day with a Mass at the Piazza del Porto. He is expected to be back in Rome around 9 pm. The trip to San Marino marks the third papal voyage to the tiny republic: Pope John Paul II visited in 1982, and Pope Benedict XVI in 2011. To commemorate this week’s trip, San Marino has issued a souvenir sheet, which can be seen by clicking on this LINK. |
