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  <img src="http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/letterlogo.jpg" alt="Logo" height="90">    
   <div class="title-wrapper">
      <b><h1 class='Shead1'>Vatican Stamp Notes</h1></b>
   </div>      
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As we enter the month of August, the days of summer provide little in the way of news for Vatican City philatelists.  However, the VPS Website Team does have an exciting announcement:
<br><br>
<b><center>Development of the VPS Stamp Inventory System</b></center>
<br>
VPS Webmaster Marvin Lanahan has developed a stamp inventory system (SIS) available to the members of the Society.  For details and instructions to access this new member benefit, check out the next article.
<br><br>

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 <center>Question or comment about this article?<br><a href='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/contact10.php'><button><b>Click here to share with the VPS Website Team</b></button></a><br><br></center>   
  

<center>
  <h2 class='Shead2'>Vatican Philatelic Society<br>Stamp Inventory System </h2><br>
      Marvin Lanahan<br><br></center>

The VPS Stamp Inventory System (VPS‑SIS) has been officially released and is now available to members for download on the Vatican Philatelic Society website. This application is built specifically for Vatican stamp collectors, providing a structured way to document your collections as they grow. The system supports detailed catalog entries, image‑based records, and the automatic generation of “Have” and “Want” lists to help collectors track their holdings and identify missing issues.
<br><br>
<b>Download Instructions</b>
<br><br>
The download instructions can be found on the VPS Website, as follows:
<br><br>
1. Go to the Vatican Philatelic Society homepage and click on the “Member Page” button in the upper right-hand corner.<br>
2. Click on the “Album Page Downloads” button on the main navigation bar.<br>
3. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, where you will see the section labeled “VPS Stamp Inventory System Downloads”.<br>
4. It is recommended that you download and print the "VPS-SIS Installation Guide" and "VPS-SIS Quickstart Card", which provide step-by-step instructions and reference notes.<br>
5. The program ZIP files are ready for you to grab. The installation instructions are straightforward, and the Quick Start Guide will have you up and running in no time.
<br><br>
One note: several users have reported encountering a Windows Defender SmartScreen warning during installation. This is normal for new, unsigned applications. The message typically reads: “Windows protected your PC”.  To proceed:<br>
1. Click “More Info”<br>
2. Select “Run Anyway”
<br><br>
This will allow the installer to launch properly.
<br><br>
The VPS‑SIS runs on Windows laptops and desktop computers only. It is not compatible with Apple macOS, iOS, Android, tablets, or phones.
<br><br>
<b>System Purpose & Early Feedback</b>
<br><br>
The VPS‑SIS was designed exclusively for Vatican philately, giving collectors a clean, organized, and expandable way to manage their holdings. Early testers report smooth operation, successful cataloging, and appreciation for the built‑in Have/Want list features. 
The system continues to evolve as a lightweight, practical tool for Vatican collectors and will serve as a foundation for future enhancements.
<br><br>
Once you have had a chance to download the VPS-SIS and work with it, let me know what you think: send me a Website Message or drop a line in the Chat Room. I hope you find this to be a valuable tool and a tangible benefit to your VPS membership.
<br><br>
For additional information, click on the following links to logs presented this past week:
<br><br>
<a href='https://vaticanstamps.org/vpsrobot/diaryviewer.php?gdate=2026-08-04'>VPS Daily Log, August 4</a><br>
<a href='https://vaticanstamps.org/vpsrobot/diaryviewer.php?gdate=2026-08-05'>VPS Daily Log, August 5</a><br>
<a href='https://vaticanstamps.org/vpsrobot/diaryviewer.php?gdate=2026-08-07'>VPS Daily Log, August 7</a>
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 <center>Question or comment about this article?<br><a href='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/contact10.php'><button><b>Click here to share with the VPS Website Team</b></button></a><br><br></center>   
  

<center>
  <h2 class='Shead2'>Saint Lawrence<br>Deacon of Rome</h2><br>
      James C. Hamilton<br>Updated by Lou Giorgetti<br><br></center>

<center>
<img height='275' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/256.jpg'><br>
<b>Valerian Martyrs Issue<br>Saint Lawrence<br>
Scott 256 (1959)</b></center>
<br>
Saint Lawrence is one of the best-known early deacons and martyrs of the Roman Church, martyred for his faith during the Valerian persecutions of 258.  He was one of the seven deacons of Rome and is associated with Pope Saint Sixtus II (whose feast day falls on August 6), who was martyred a few days before Lawrence.  Sixtus and his companions were buried in the cemetery where the Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls now stands.
<br><br>
The Emperor Valerian ordered Christian bishops, priests, and deacons to be executed and confiscated their property.  After the martyrdom of Sixtus II and his companions, Lawrence distributed the Church’s goods to many fellow Christians.  When asked to produce the Church treasures, he told the Roman prefect that the poor were the treasure of the Church.  As a result of his challenge to the Roman authorities he was martyred.  It is generally held that he was martyred on a gridiron, and legend has it that he told his murders at one point to flip him over since he was done on one side.  This dramatic account of his martyrdom may be open to question (he may have been beheaded), but it remains a popular aspect of his courage in faith in the face of death.  Dawn Marie Beutner writes:
<blockquote>
<i>The example of his life and death made a great impact on the people of Rome, and many became followers of Christ soon afterward.</i>
</blockquote>
<center>
<img height='275' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/195.jpg'>
<img height='275' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/196.jpg'>
<br><b>Pope Sixtus II and St. Lawrence<br>
500th Anniversary of the Birth of Fra Angelico<br>
Scott 195-196 (1955)</b></center>
<br>
<center>
<img height='350' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/San_Lorenzo_%28Beato_Angelico%29.jpg'><br>
<b><i>St. Lawrence Receiving the Treasures of the Church</i>, by Fra Angelico<br>
Niccoline Chapel, Vatican Apostolic Palace<br>
From Wikimedia Commons (in the public domain)</b></center>
<br><br>
The fresco by Fra Angelico, <i>St. Lawrence Receiving the Treasures of the Church from Pope Sixtus II</i>, shown above, is located in the Cappella Nicolina of the Vatican Apostolic Palace.  It served as the inspiration for two of the stamps shown picturing Saint Lawrence, issued to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of the great early Renaissance artist.
<br><br>
<center>
<img height='275' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/128.jpg'><br>
<b>Roman Basilicas Issue:<br>
Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls<br>
Scott 128 (1949)</b></center>
<br><br>
The Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls, pictured on the stamp above from the Roman Basilicas Issue of 1949, is a minor papal basilica.  The Basilica is the shrine of the tomb of Saint Lawrence, and also contains the tombs of many other saints, as well as Pope Pius IX.  The popularity of Saint Lawrence in Rome is illustrated by the fact that there are seven churches devoted to Saint Lawrence in the city, including four of the Lenten Station Churches: Saint Lawrence in Panisperna, Saint Lawrence in Lucina, and Saint Lawrence in Damaso, along with Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls.
<br><br>
Saint Lawrence is the patron saint of Rome (alongside Saints Peter and Paul), as well as the cities and towns of Grosseto, Perugia, Rotterdam, and Amaseno. He is the protector of firefighters, cooks, grill chefs, glassmakers, and all those who work with fire.  It is also fitting that he is the patron saint of comedians.
<br><br>
<center>
<img height='300' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Laurentius_von_Rom.jpg'><br>
<b>Martyrdom of St. Lawrence<br>
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna<br>
From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain</b></center>
<br><br>
Saint Lawrence is remembered in the Roman Canon of the Mass in the litany of martyrs in Eucharistic Prayer 1 (...Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus...).  He is venerated in many works of Christian art, with one example being a splendid mosaic in Ravenna at the Mausoleum of Galla Placida, which depicts Lawrence with a cross on his shoulder and a book of the Gospels, walking toward the fire and the gridiron.  Ravenna’s 5th and 6th century mosaics are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site contained in eight churches and other buildings.  It is well worth a visit to this Adriatic Sea city, once the center for the Byzantine Exarchate in Italy.
<br><br>
<b>REFERENCES:</b><br>
<li>Farmer, David, <b>Oxford Dictionary of Saints</b><br>
<li>Beutner, Dawn Marie, <b>Saints: Becoming an Image of Christ Every Day of the Year</b><br>
<li>Attwater, Donald, and John, Catherine, <b>Penguin Dictionary of Saints</b><br>
<li>Hamilton, James C., <i>Vatican Notes</i>, Volume 67, Number 381, pp. 8-9, 2019, <a href= 'http://vaticanstamps.org/vaticannotes/idisplay.php?p=67-381-08-09'>St. Lawrence Receiving Treasures of the Church, by Fra Angelico</a><br>
<li>Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search
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