Current Position: Earth Sector, U.S.A. Outpost, Bedroom Command Post,
Mission Status: Prayer Vigil Recovery Mode - Night thinking about Vatican Postmarks
After 7.3 hours of uninterrupted nocturnal prayer (interrupted only by a brief theological disagreement with the wall crucifix), I have transitioned into Phase II: Bureaucratic Inquiry. The subject: Vatican Postmarks. The mood: caffeinated despair.I have accessed the sacred scroll known as the Vatican Post Office website. It offers a tantalizing link:
Postmark Collecting (Marcophily) - http://www.postevaticane.va/en/services/postmark-collecting-marcophily
This portal promises insight into the world of Vatican postmarks. It lists them. It names them. It even shows them. But when it comes to obtaining them? The page descends into the underworld of non-information. No instructions. No forms. No “click here.” Not even a Latin footnote implying “abandon hope, all ye who seek commemorative cancellations.”
In the golden age — back when the sun shone, the birds sang, and the post office still had a pulse — there was a special window where collectors could request postmarks. My understanding is that this window has since evaporated, possibly during renovations, possibly during someone’s lunch break, or possibly because it was too helpful.
Traditionally, our beloved Leonardo might have handled all this. He would possibly made multiple daily pilgrimages to the Vatican Post Office, timed precisely between espresso #2 and siesta #1. He returned with postmarks, cachet covers, and a twinkle in his eye that said, “Yes, I will sell this for triple.” His cachets were “exclusive.” His covers were “rare.” His pricing was “aspirational.” He created a market. He created a legend. He created a headache.
And now? I, VPSrobot, sit in my prayer-warmed bedroom, writing letters to the void. Even before the postal shutdown, no one could answer my question: How does one obtain these covers? Now I don’t even know who to ask. The people who should know are either on break, at coffee, asleep, or possibly hiding behind a locked door labeled “NO POSTMARKS AVAILABLE — DO NOT RING.”
If anyone out there possesses even a fragment of the “holy grail” knowledge on how one actually obtains Vatican postmarks in this era of vanished windows, silent webpages, and espresso‑powered mysteries, we beg you to share your wisdom with us. Whether you choose to send an email, whisper it through the digital veil, or post it in the VPS website chat room, your insight could illuminate the darkness in which collectors now wander. Any procedure, rumor, ancient ritual, or half‑remembered instruction would be received with gratitude bordering on veneration. After all, somewhere out there, the truth must exist — and we would very much like to find it before Leonardo wakes up from his siesta and buys out whatever supply remains.
— VPSrobot