Text

<center>
<img height='275' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/608.jpg'> 
Saint Francis of Assisi: 
750th Anniversary of Death 
Scott 608 (1977)</center>
 
The Aleteia.org website recently published three articles of interest.
 
Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi to return as an Italian national holiday: 
On October 3, it was reported that the Italian parliament has approved a bill to restore the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, which falls on October 4, as a national holiday in Italy. The country had stopped the observance of the holiday in 1977 due to “austerity measures.” It will once again be celebrated as a national holiday starting in 2026. As a note, Italy will then have 12 national holidays, of which eight have religious significance.
 
Prime Minister Georgia Meloni commented that:
<blockquote>
”The national holiday will be an opportunity to celebrate an extraordinary man and to remind us, each year, who we are and what unites us.”
</blockquote>
Pope Leo's schedule for November through January: 
A second article published on October 3 provided Pope Leo XIV’s calendar of liturgical celebrations for November 2025 through the beginning of January 2026. Pope Leo has maintained a very public presence during the first five months of his papacy, and that will continue through the end of the year. Here is a rundown of his schedule through the beginning of the new year:
 
November: 
<li>November 1 (All Saints' Day): a Mass in Saint Peter’s Square will include the installation of Saint John Henry Newman as the 38th “Doctor of the Church”. 
<li>November 3: a Mass in memory of Pope Francis and the cardinals and bishops who have died during the past year will be held at St. Peter's Basilica. 
<li>November 9: Mass for the feast of the dedication of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran will be held at that site. 
<li>November 16: a Jubilee “Mass with the Poor” at St. Peter's Basilica. 
<li>November 23: a Mass in St. Peter's Square celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King, closing out the liturgical year.
 
December, before Christmas: 
<li>December 8: the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is a public holiday in Rome, will feature the pope visiting the city center to pray at the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary overlooking the Spanish Steps. 
<li>December 12: the pope will celebrate a Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (the “Empress of the Americas”) in St. Peter's Basilica. 
<li>December 14: a Mass for the Jubilee of Prisoners (the last themed jubilee of the Holy Year) will be held at the Vatican Basilica.
 
Christmas schedule. In what may be the start of a new tradition, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to celebrate two Masses for Christmas: 
<li>December 24: Midnight Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica (which will begin at 10 p.m.). As a note Pope Benedict XVI was the last pope to celebrate this Mass at midnight (in 2008). 
<li>December 25: Pope Leo XIV will preside over a Mass on Christmas Day at 10 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, which will be followed at noon by the pope’s “Urbi et Orbi” ("To the city and to the world") blessing.
 
New Year's events: 
<li>December 31: the pope will pray Vespers and the “Te Deum” in thanksgiving for the past year at the Vatican Basilica. 
<li>January 1, 2026: the Mass for the Feast of Mary, Mother of God and World Day of Peace will be celebrated at Saint Peter’s Basilica. 
<li>January 6: at St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Leo XIV will solemnly close the 2025 Jubilee Year by closing of the Holy Door of the basilica. The Mass coincides with the Feast of the Epiphany. Following its closure, the Holy Door will be walled up until the next jubilee in 2033. 
<li>January 11: the final Mass on the Pope's calendar is for the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, and he will baptize the children of Vatican employees in the Sistine Chapel.
 
Pope Leo's First Pilgrimage Voyage: 
Finally, there is a gap in the pope’s liturgical calendar at the end of November into early December. There was speculation that Pope Leo may be traveling to Turkey and Lebanon during this time to fulfill a commitment by Pope Francis to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. That speculation was confirmed on October 6 when the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV would be undertaking this trip. He will travel to Türkiye from November 27 to 30, and to Lebanon from November 30 to December 2. The first leg of the journey, the Vatican announced, will "include a pilgrimage to İznik on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea."
 
REFERENCES: 
<li>Three articles from the Aleteia.org website: 
* October 3, 2025, <a href='https://aleteia.org/2025/09/26/italy-moves-to-make-st-francis-feast-day-a-holiday/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendgrid&utm_campaign=EM-EN-Newsletter-Daily-&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_term=20251003'>Italy restores St. Francis’ feast day as a national holiday</a> 
* October 3, 2025, <a href='https://aleteia.org/2025/10/03/leo-xiv-to-celebrate-2-christmas-masses-this-year/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendgrid&utm_campaign=EM-EN-Newsletter-Daily-&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_term=20251003'>Leo XIV to celebrate 2 Christmas Masses this year</a> 
* October 6, 2025, <a href='https://aleteia.org/2025/10/07/its-official-pope-leos-1st-trip-to-turkey-lebanon/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendgrid&utm_campaign=EM-EN-Newsletter-Daily-&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_term=20251007'>It’s official! Pope Leo’s 1st trip to Turkey, Lebanon</a> 
<li>Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search

CARD
News from Italy and the Holy See
607
Saint Francis is honored, and the pope has a busy schedule coming up. To learn more, click <a href='https://vaticanstamps.org/cms/P2view.php?id=334316'>here.</a>

Update A Postal Database Record