VATICAN, Maria Fischer •
Pope Francis will turn 80 on December 17th. To commemorate this event, the Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office issued a stamp with a reproduction of a painting by the Spanish artist, Raúl Berzosa Fernández.
Pope Francis is in the center of the work’s composition. The Holy Father assumed the Chair of St. Peter always protected by “Our Lady of Luján,” Patroness of Argentina. “Pope Francis is inspired by the Holy Spirit; this is represented by the light radiating from the upper part of the painting, enlightening him. The colors commemorate the Argentinean flag with blue colors on the left and the white of the Pope, as well as the Vatican colors, the yellow on the right and the white of the Pope, thus the Holy Father serves as a union between Argentina and the Vatican,” the artist explained.
The stamp costs 1 Euro; moreover complete pages with for stamps are issued within a large reproduction of the original painting.
It is a special gift for all of Pope Francis’ allies of solidarity to see the celebration of his birthday in “covenant” with the Our Lady of Luján, who he loves very much.
TO CONGRATULATE THE POPE: popefrancis80@vatican.va
The other email addresses to greet the Pope are: papafranciscus80@vatican.va (latin); papafrancesco80@vatican.va (italian); papafrancisco80@vaticanva (Spanish and Portugeuse); papefrancois80@vatican.va (french); papstfranziskus80@vatican.va (german) and papiezfranciszek80@vatican.va (polish).
The Vatican created the hashtag #Pontifex80 for greetings on the social networks.
Original Spanish. Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA. Edited: Melissa Peña-Janknegt, Elgin, TX USA
