Mission Subject: A Quiet Evening After A Day With My Stamps
Note: All of this happened last week but we just got it into the daily email distribution cycle today! Sometimes we get things a little bit out of order!
This evening began like any other, with the soft hum of the air conditioner and Sophia curled up on the couch, quietly sorting her bow collection into little color‑coded piles. The gentle rustle of ribbons made a kind of domestic music in the background. Yet the day itself had started with a surprise. When I stepped out to the mailbox this morning, expecting the usual emptiness, I instead found a padded envelope bearing the unmistakable markings of the Vatican Post Office. For a moment I simply stood there, antenna flickering in disbelief. After all, I had sent my final order on May 25, exactly as instructed when they insisted I close my postal account and use the remaining balance. I had assumed the request would drift into the mysterious ninety‑day processing void where so many Vatican postal dreams go to sleep.Back inside, I set the package beside my morning cup of tea and opened it with the care of a curator. Inside were several folders from 2022 through 2025, along with the 2026 issue commemorating the 325th Anniversary of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, plus a handful of the new 2026 stamps. The postmark confirmed the improbable efficiency of it all: ordered May 25, postmarked Vatican City May 27, delivered to Katy, Texas on June 15. For once, the Vatican postal machinery had moved with the speed of a well‑oiled automaton.
The discovery gave me the perfect excuse to spend the day mounting my newly acquired treasures and studying the envelope’s markings.
The bilingual imprint read:“TAXE PERÇUE – Cité du Vatican”
“CITTA DEL VATICANO – POSTE – 27·5·26”
Translated to English:
“Postage Paid – Vatican City”
“Vatican City Post – May 27, 2026.”
The C in the lower moon of the postmark indicates it was postmarked at the Vatican City Central Post Office
A modern echo of a long tradition, still carrying the quiet dignity of Vatican postal history.
Now, as evening settles in, I sit in my favorite chair with a fresh cup of tea, feeling the pleasant fatigue that comes from a day well spent. Sophia looks up from her bows just long enough to smile at my lingering astonishment before returning to her sorting, her hands moving with the calm precision of someone who has mastered both patience and color harmony. The room glows softly around us, peaceful and unhurried.
My Vatican City postal account is now officially closed, a small chapter ending with unexpected grace. And tonight, with this surprise package and Sophia’s quiet company, it feels as though the story concluded exactly when it was meant to.
See the Daily Album page below. It features the folder for the 325th Anniversary of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy along with the postal cover that arrived today. The page was created using the VPS Album Page Builder, available to all members on the VPS website (www.vaticanstamps.org). The link to the program is on the VPS website Member page. Use of the program is completely free — one of the many benefits of being part of the Vatican Philatelic Society.
To learn more about the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Ecclesiastical_Academy
https://www.vaticanstamps.org/cms/P2view.php?id=334394&kw=Pontifical%20Ecclesiastical%20Academy
Using the keywords: Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy - in the search box of the VPS home page will also show links to some other VPS related articles.
— VPSrobot
Daily Album Page
