A martyr from Silesia on a postage stamp

Updated on: November 19, 2021

On Saturday, November 20, Poczta Polska will introduce a postage stamp from the "Beatification of Fr. Jan Franciszek Macha" issue into circulation. The stamp will reach customers and philatelists on the day of the beatification mass of the Silesian martyr.

The design's author, Ewa Burdzicka, presented a colorized photograph of Father Jan Franciszek Macha against the backdrop of a cracking prison wall, symbolizing his arrest by the Gestapo. Poczta Polska also issued a limited edition First Day of Circulation (FDC) envelope. It features an archival photograph of Father Jan with his multi-generational Silesian family on the day of his priestly first mass.

Jan Franciszek Macha (Hanik) was born on January 18, 1914, in Chorzów Stary. He was a Roman Catholic priest, handball player, and resistance activist. On December 3, 1942, in Katowice, at the age of just 28, he was murdered by the Germans for his underground activities – executed by beheading (a martyr's death).

About the stamp:

author of the design: Ewa Burdzicka
number of stamps: 1
value: PLN 4.00
circulation: 144,000 pcs
printing technique: offset
stamp format: 31.25 x 43 mm
paper: fluorescent
sales sheet: 9 stamps
date of introduction into circulation: November 20, 2021