Stamp commemorating the birthday of St. John Paul II
The Polish Post, together with the Slovak Post, is commemorating the anniversary of the birth of St. John Paul II. On May 13, a postage stamp commemorating the anniversary of Karol Wojtyła's birth will enter circulation. This is a joint, exceptional initiative of the Polish Post and the Slovak Post. The Polish issue is titled "100th Anniversary of the Birth of St. John Paul II."
May 18, 2020, marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of St. John Paul II. To mark this occasion, the Polish Parliament has designated 2020 as the Year of St. John Paul II, and the Polish Post, in cooperation with the Slovak Post, is issuing a commemorative stamp and tag. It depicts Pope John Paul II with his family home in Wadowice in the background. The tag features the silhouettes of the Polish Pope and Slovak Cardinal Jan Chryzostom Korec during John Paul II's pilgrimage to Slovakia in 1995. The design of the stamp and tag was based on photographs by Grzegorz Gałązka, the papal photographer. The sheet of commemorative stamps contains six stamps and six accompanying tags.
The Polish date of issue of the stamp – May 13th – is no coincidence. On this very day in 1981, during a general audience in St. Peter's Square in Rome, John Paul II was shot by a Turkish assassin. The Pope believed he owed his survival to Our Lady, whose first apparition in Fatima took place on May 13th, 1917. Slovak Post will introduce its stamp on the anniversary of the Pope's birth, May 18th, 2020.
The stamp design for both postal administrations was created by Polish graphic artist Maciej Jędrysik. In addition to the stamp, Poczta Polska also issues a first-day-of-circulation envelope, on which the designer depicts Karol Wojtyła's parents and little Lolek during his First Holy Communion. In the background is the Minor Basilica of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where Karol Wojtyła was baptized and received his First Holy Communion. In the background is the silhouette of mountains and St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Cardinal Jan Chrysostom Korec is a prominent figure in the Catholic Church in the former Czechoslovakia. The communist authorities in Czechoslovakia prevented him from exercising his priestly ministry, so he performed it in secret, working simultaneously as a factory worker and later as a librarian at the Institute of Occupational Hygiene. Only after the fall of communism in November 1989 was the bishop able to reveal his activities, and in January 1990, Pope John Paul II officially appointed Bishop Korec rector of the reorganized seminary in Bratislava. A few weeks later, he confirmed his clandestine episcopacy, appointing him Bishop of Nitra. At the consistory of June 28, 1991, the Holy Father included the hierarch in the College of Cardinals.
This year – on the occasion of the 100th birthday of the Polish Pope – a joint issue of coins by Poland and the Vatican is also planned, however, due to the epidemic, both the Vatican celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Saint John Paul II and the accompanying philatelic issue will probably be postponed until October.
About the stamp:
Designer: Maciej Jędrysik
Number of stamps: 1 with tag
Value: PLN 5
Circulation: 210,000 pcs.
Printing technique: offset
Stamp format: 43 x 31.25 mm
Paper: fluorescent
Sales sheet: 6 stamps + 6 tags
Date of introduction into circulation: May 13, 2020
This and other philatelic publications can be purchased at post offices and online store: www.filatelistyka.poczta-polska.pl .