This Monday, the Vatican launched a commemorative stamp for World Youth Day Lisbon 2023, inspired by the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, depicting Pope Francis in place of Infante D. Henrique and young people in place of navigators.
The design of the stamp, released together with a commemorative stamp, featuring the WJD logo, was designed by Stefano Morri.
“As mate D. Henrique leads the crew in discovering the new world, so Pope Francis leads the young and the Church on the seal of the Vatican”, explains a note published on the Vatican news website, Vatican News.
The stamp has a face value of 3.10 euros and a circulation of 45,000.
The commemorative stamp, in circular format, representing the official WYD Lisbon logo, will be used on May 16 and 17 by the post office “Arco delle Campane” (in Praça São Pedro).
Lisbon was the city chosen by Pope Francis for the next edition of World Youth Day, which will take place this year between August 1 and August 6, with the main ceremonies in Parque Tejo, north of Parque das Nações, on the Tagus River, on land in the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures.
WYD was born on the initiative of Pope John Paul II, after the success of the gathering promoted in Rome in 1985, in the International Year of Youth.
The first edition took place in Rome in 1986, having already passed through Buenos Aires (1987), Santiago de Compostela (1989), Czestochowa (1991), Denver (1993), Manila (1995), Paris (1997), Rome (2000 ), Toronto (2002), Cologne (2005), Sydney (2008), Madrid (2011), Rio de Janeiro (2013), Krakow (2016) and Panama (2019).
This year’s edition, which will be concluded by the Pope, was initially scheduled for 2022 but has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pope Francis was the first person to register for JMJLisboa2023, on October 23, 2022, at the Vatican, following the celebration of the Angelus. This gesture marked the worldwide opening of registration for the World Youth Meeting with the Pope.
To date, more than half a million young people have started the registration process.
Source: DN
