IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican will anticipate the
canonization of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata with a special postage stamp, which
will be released Sept. 2, two days before Pope Francis officially declares her
a saint.
The Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office announced the
stamp’s release Aug. 5 and distributed initial images of it.
The 95-cent stamp features a wrinkled but radiant Mother
Teresa smiling in her blue-trimmed, white sari. Overlaid on the design by
Patrizio Daniele is another image of her holding the hand of a small child.
“Frail but equally determined in her vocation, Mother
Teresa loved God and the church with great strength, simplicity and
extraordinary humility, glorifying with her life the dignity of a most humble
service,” said the brochure announcing the stamp’s release.
“She was a humble messenger of the Gospel and of
Christ’s love, known as ‘a small pencil in the hands of the Lord,’ doing her
work quietly and always with great love,” it said. “She assisted the
poor, the sick and the abandoned with tireless dedication, offering smiles and
simple gestures, finding strength to persevere with her vocation through prayer
and trust in God.”
The philatelic office said it would print and sell a maximum
of 150,000 sheets of 10 stamps each.
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