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“Following the example of Saint Michael Archangel, be like the angels, who protect and serve”, Pope Francis said to Gendarmes on Saturday afternoon, 5 October, during Holy Mass at the Altar of the Chair in Saint Peter’s Basilica, on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Michael Archangel, Patron Saint of the Gendarmerie Corps. The celebration had to be postponed from 29 September, due to the Pope’s Apostolic Journey in Luxembourg and Belgium.
On the occasion of the Solemnity of Christmas 2025, the Postal and Philatelic Service of the Governorate of Vatican City State will issue a pair of commemorative envelopes, also available inside a dedicated limited-edition folder.
For the election of the Successor of Peter, the Habemus Papam postal cancellation will be available for postage use.
The Postal and Philately Service of the department of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate announces that it will be possible, immediately after the papal election, to obtain the cancellation postmark at the Vatican Post Office in St. Peter's Square.
The Postal and Philately Service of the department of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate communicates that the postmark or cancelation for the Opening of the Conclave is available for postage use as of Wednesday, 7 May at 4:30 p.m.
The cancelation is available at the Post Office in St. Peter's Square.
Together through the Vatican Gardens to relive the sorrowful Passion of Christ. As is tradition, this year as well, the Governorate of the Vatican City State promoted the pious exercise of praying the Way of the Cross for its employees.
A Jesuit's Guide to the Stars - Exploring Wonder, Beauty, and Science, a new book by Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory and of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, was presented on Monday evening, 3 February, in the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington D.C.
Solidarity, fraternal help, assistance without distinction are the values that the Vatican Post Office wished to celebrate with the joint issue of the commemorative stamp for the 160th anniversary of the foundation of the Italian Red Cross, with the postal administrations of Italy, San Marino and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The stamp depicts Italian Red Cross volunteers involved in rescue operations at the site of the collapse of the Polcevera Viaduct, known as the Morandi Bridge, in Genoa on 14 August 2018. The stamp was unveiled by the engineer, Antonino Intersimone, Director of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate.
A commemorative stamp, issued by the Post and Philately Service of the Governorate of Vatican City State, for the bicentenary of Rome’s Pontifical Institute of Saint Apollinaire was unveiled during a presentation held on Monday afternoon, 4 November. Fr. Luigi Fioriti, Professor of Italian and Latin, outlined the details of the stamp to an audience that included the Institute’s Board of Directors, numerous professors, students, staff members, parents and alumni, at the Institute’s headquarters on Viale Vaticano.
The world is in need of peace, especially today, when conflicts are widespread in many areas, and are continuously being exacerbated, despite international efforts. In order to contribute to peace building and to underscore that peace is a fundamental universal value, Vatican City State and Italy, through the Ministry of Enterprises and Made In Italy, have issued a joint stamp, which was officially presented on Thursday morning, 14 November, at the headquarters of the Foreign Press Association in Rome.
The Governatorate of the State of Vatican City presents a new series of commemorative numismatic issues that span a time initiating with a tribute to the great masters who shaped the artistic face of the Vatican to the recently celebrated Jubilee Year of Hope.
The 12th anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral of the Greek-Catholic Church in Kyiv, the 20th anniversary of the return of the See of the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from Lviv to Kyiv, and the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Metropolitanate of Kyiv: these are the three anniversaries that the Vatican Postal and Philately Service of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems celebrates with the issuance of a postage stamp and special “die emissionis” postmark, an illustrative folder, and a commemorative envelope.
Solidarietà, aiuto fraterno, assistenza senza distinzioni. Sono questi i valori che le Poste Vaticane hanno voluto celebrare con l'emissione congiunta del francobollo commemorativo per i 160 anni dalla fondazione della Croce Rossa Italiana. Lo hanno fatto con le amministrazioni postali di Italia, San Marino e Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta.
Hercules Mastai, the colossal bronze statue named after Pius IX, who included it among the collections of the Vatican Museums, has undergone a complex intervention to preserve it. The restoration project was possible thanks to the contribution of Rick and Lisa Altig of the Northwest Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums. On Tuesday, 3 December, the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage held a workshop dedicated to furthering knowledge on “Hercules Mastai – From its Finding to its Restoration”, and to providing details of its restoration.
This year, the Nativity Scene that is set up in Saint Peter’s Square each year for the Christmas season, will be donated by Grado, a lagoon rich with history and tradition located in the Province of Gorizia. The Christmas tree, a majestic red fir tree standing more than 29 metres tall, will be donated by Ledro in the Province of Trento, and raised beside the Nativity Scene.
From Val d’Ultimo, in the province of Bolzano, comes the majestic Norway spruce, 25 meters tall and weighing 8,000 kilograms, which will be set up in St. Peter’s Square for Christmas 2025. It was felled at five o’clock on, 24 November, and has been sent to Rome.
For Christmas 2025 the Nativity scene for St. Peter’s Square, the one for the Paul VI Hall, and the monumental evergreen tree will come from the towns of Lagundo and Ultimo, from the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno and from the nation of Costa Rica.
During the celebrations of Holy Week in the Vatican thousands of multicolored flowers and plants, originating in Italy and Holland, adorned St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter’s Square. In collaboration with the generous benefactors who donated the beautiful plants and flowers to the Pope, in honor of this most significant liturgical season, the gardeners and workers of the Garden and Environment Service of the Directorate of Infrastructure and Services of the Governorate once again presented spectacular arrangements and care of detail for the faithful and multitude of pilgrims that had arrived in Rome for Holy Week.
Thousands of multicolored flowers and plants from Italy and the Netherlands will adorn St. Peter’s Square and the Basilica for the celebrations of Holy Week. Their arrangement and artistic creations will be carried out by the staff of the Gardens and Environment Service of the Directorate of Infrastructure and Services of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, in collaboration with the entities who have donated the plants and flowers.
The Vatican City State announces that the commemorative stamps of the Sede Vacante MMXXV(2025) for postage use are on sale at the Vatican Post Offices, including the general public accessible sales points located in St. Peter's Square.
The philatelic series of the Sede Vacante MMXXV will also be available soon with a print run in line with market demand through the e-shop sales channels of the Commercializzazione Filatelica e Numismatica office, which will be reactivated this summer.
The stamps are divided into four postal values (€ 1.25 - € 1.30 - € 2.45 - € 3.20) and will be sold at their relative face value.
Fourteen paintings, depicting the Stations of the Way of the Cross, by Gaetano Previati, were unveiled on Friday, 7 March, in Saint Peter’s Basilica, where they will remain throughout the Lenten Season, to give the faithful an opportunity to contemplate the mysteries of the Passion of the Lord.
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