Vatican stamp celebrates U.S.-Holy See diplomatic relations

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A new Vatican postage stamp celebrates the 40th anniversary of full diplomatic relations between the United States and the Holy See.

The 2.45-euro ($2.75) stamp features the seal of the Holy See and the seal of the United States tied together with yellow and gold ribbons for the Vatican and red, white and blue ribbons for the United States.

The years 1984 and 2024 feature prominently on the stamp, which also notes it is the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

The Vatican post office will begin selling the stamp Sept. 16, the philatelic office said, and the post office located by the Arch of the Bells in St. Peter's Square will offer special cancellations for collectors Sept. 16 and 17.

The Vatican and the U.S. government announced the establishment of full diplomatic relations Jan. 10, 1984. Two months later, the Senate confirmed President Ronald Reagan's choice of William A. Wilson as the first U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, and a few weeks later St. John Paul II appointed then-Archbishop Pio Laghi as the first pro-nuncio to the United States.

But, as the philatelic office said in its announcement of the stamp, "in fact, the first contact between the United States of America and the Holy See at a high level occurred in 1788, when George Washington, through Benjamin Franklin, informed Pope Pius VI that in the fledgling Republic there was no need for permission from the state for the appointment of a bishop by virtue of the religious freedom that the revolution had brought to the colonies."

The next year, Pope Pius appointed Jesuit Father John Carroll to be bishop of Baltimore, "thus establishing the Catholic hierarchy in the newly independent country," the announcement noted.