Israel Post - Israel Philatelic Service
Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit Israel from 11 May 2009 to 15 May 2009. This occasion will be commemorated by a selection of philatelic and souvenir products.
"My Own Stamp" personalized stamp sheet
The Israel Philatelic Service will be issuing two My Own Stamp sheets. The first will be on sale from 4 May 2009 and during the visit and the second will be produced immediately afterwards and consist of actual photos taken during the visit.
Each My Own Stamp Papal Visit Sheet will be available in a special souvenir set consisting of the sheet and full color informative booklet. There will be two different souvenir sets, each containing 12 postage stamps.
The first sheet will be numbered and issued in a limited quantity of 10,000 sheets. The first booklet will contain photos of the Holy Sites and relevant biblical references, complied and written by Mr. Peter Jennings, the well known Catholic journalist, writer, broadcaster and Vatican expert who will be covering the Papal Visit to Israel.
The second My Own Stamp sheet will be in the same format as the first sheet and include photographs taken during the visit. The booklet also written by Mr. Peter Jennings, a noted philatelic journalist and a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London, will include articles and quotes from the addresses and sermons given by Pope Benedict XVI.
Price:
NIS 37 per stamp sheet (US$ 9)
NIS 49 per souvenir set (US$12.50)
ATM Postage Label Papal Visit
The labels will be dispensed from the ATM machines in Nazareth and Jerusalem only for the duration of the visit. They will be removed from sale on 17 May 2009. The label depicts the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth and statue of the apostle Peter.
Postcards
We are also preparing the NIS 3.80 value label on decorative postcards for tourists to send back to their friends and family. There will be three different sets containing five postcards (each postcard has the ATM postage label attached to it). Each set of 5 postcards cost NIS 25.
Special Cancellations
There will be four special cancellations:
- 4 May 2009 Cancellation for the ATM label, Nazareth
- 11 May 2009 First day of visit, Jerusalem
- 12 May 2009 Jerusalem
- 14 May 2009 Nazareth
Products will be available for purchase online from 4 May 2009 at
www.israelpost.co.il/pope
Israel Welcomes His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
May 2009
The 82-year-old pilgrim Pope has brought renewed hope, understanding, reconciliation and peace between peoples and religions in the Holy Land. His visit will encourage pilgrimages and tourism to Israel. In turn, Pope Benedict will take to Rome many vivid memories of the holy Christian and Jewish sites including those in Jerusalem, Galilee and Nazareth. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected the Successor of Saint Peter, and Pontiff of the Holy Roman Church, in the Sistine Chapel in Rome on 19 April 2005. He chose the name Benedict XVI.
The words of leaders, spiritual and secular, have been borne to the
uttermost parts of the world by horse, camel, ship, pigeon, and by all the new engines of the modern day. Not least in honour or power in modern history has been that tiny marvel, the postage stamp, first introduced to the world exactly 169 years ago, in May 1840. The postage stamp is the smallest, quietest, but influential engine in the world. No letter ever bore a stamp; always it has been the stamp that bore the letter.
How fitting then that the Israel Philatelic Service should be marking the Holy Land Pilgrimage of Pope Benedict XVI with this commemorative work of art in miniature, a beautiful Israeli personalized postage stamp sheet.
These engaging stamps will be used in the first place to send everyday letters and messages of peace and commerce, but stamp collectors and non-collectors throughout the world will also treasure them as a lasting memento of the bridge-building Papal visit to Israel during May 2009.
Peter Jennings KMCO, FRPSL, FRGS
Sites depicted:
GROTTO OF THE ANNUNCIATION, NAZARETH
"The Angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary." Luke 1:26-27
This is a historically significant site and the church was established at the site where, according to tradition, the Annunciation took place. The current church, a minor basilica, was constructed in 1969 over the site of an earlier Byzantineera and then Crusader-era church, and is run by the Franciscans. Inside, the lower level contains the Grotto of the Annunciation. It was dedicated by Pope Paul VI during his historic three-day visit to the Holy Land in January 1964.
THE SEA OF GALILEE
"As Jesus was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, 'Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.' And at once they left their nets and followed him." Mark 1:16-18
The Sea of Galilee is situated 31 km east of Nazareth and lies 200 m below sea level. It is about 20 km from north to south, and 12 km from east to west at its widest. The Sea of Galilee is mentioned in the Bible under three other names the Sea of Kinnereth (or Chinnereth), the Sea of Tiberias and the Lake of Gennesareth.The ministry and miracles of Jesus took place around this area.
CHURCH OF THE DORMITION, JERUSALEM
"Mary said: 'My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour; because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid. Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me." Luke 1:46-49
The Church of the Dormition - the "Falling Asleep of the Virgin" - is situated near to the Zion Gate in the south-west corner of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built as part of a Byzantine church called 'Holy Sion, Mother of All Churches'. The present church, served by Benedictine monks, was established in1910. It has a beautiful mosaic pavement, in the centre of which are three intersecting circles, symbolizing the Trinity. The first circle contains the names of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
CHURCH OF THE PRIMACY OF ST PETER
"Then he said to him a third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything; you know I love you'. Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep." John 21:17
The Church of the Primacy of St Peter is a modest Franciscan chapel that incorporates part of a 4th-century church. It is located at Tabgha on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. The church is a reminder to pilgrims that after his resurrection Jesus forgave Peter for the three times that he had denied him and reaffirmed him as head of the Church.
CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
"Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him." Matthew 17:1-3
The Church of the Transfiguration is a Franciscan church located on Mount Tabor. It is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place. The current church, part of a Franciscan monastery, was completed in 1924 and was built on the ruins of an ancient, 4th-6th century, Byzantine church.
CHURCH OF THE BEATITUDES
"Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them: 'How happy are the poor in sprit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:1-3
The Church of the Beatitudes is located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee near Tabgha. The Mount of Beatitudes is the traditional site where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount - the best known sermon of all time. Pilgrims have been drawn to this place since at least the fourth century. The present church, run by the Franciscans, was built in 1938 and is octagonal in shape, representing the eight beatitudes.
THE ROTUNDA OF THE TOMB IN THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
"The angel spoke said to the women, 'He (Jesus) is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples he has risen from the dead and now he is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him." Matthew 28:5-7
The focal point of the Holy Sepulchre Church, in Jerusalem, is the round area of the church, known as the Rotunda. It preserves the location and shape, and a few original columns, of Constantine's 4th-century Church of the Resurrection built on the site of Christ's tomb. The Rotunda is surmounted by a large dome, completed during the 1960's. It has since been decorated with a 12-pointed star whose rays symbolize the outreach of the 12 apostles.
BASILICA OF THE ANNUNCIATION, NAZARETH
"The angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High." Luke 1:30-32
The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth is a modern Catholic church built over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches. It incorporates the cave in which the Virgin Mary received the news from Gabriel that she would give birth to Jesus. The site has been a pilgrimage destination since earliest times. The cave that is enshrined inside the basilica was identified around the 4th century as the place of the Annunciation.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
"They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with spices in linen cloths, following the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there." John 19:40-42
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, situated in the Old City of Jerusalem, has been an important pilgrimage destination since the 4th century, and it remains the holiest Christian site in the world. It stands on a site that encompasses both Golgotha, or Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and the tomb (sepulchre) where he was buried. This church is served by priests from the Armenian,
Latin and Greek rites.
GETHSEMANE - CHURCH OF ALL NATIONS
"A thing despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering." Isaiah 53:3
The Church of All Nations is situated in a garden called Gethsemane in the Kidron valley, east of Jerusalem. The coats of arms of the countries that contributed to the building of the church during the early 1920's are displayed in the ceiling.
THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
"Then Jesus came with them to a small estate called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, 'Stay here while I go over there to pray'. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him. And sadness came over him, and great distress. Then he said to them, 'My soul is sorrowful to the point of death." Matthew 26:36-38.
The Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives in the Kidron Valley, is the place where Jesus prayed with his disciples the night before his crucifixion. Overlooking the garden is the Church of All Nations. The Garden of Gethsemane was a focal site for early Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land.
CENACLE – ROOM OF THE LAST SUPPER
"Say to the owner of the house which he enters, 'The Master says: Where is my dining room in which I can eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, furnished with couches, all prepared. Make the preparations for us there." Mark 14:14-15
The Last Supper Room is a second-storey room in Jerusalem that
commemorates the "upper room" in which Jesus shared the Last Supper with the disciples. It is located directly above the Tomb of David.
Biblical texts taken from The Jerusalem Bible (© 1966 Darton, Longman & Todd, London); selected by Peter Jennings.
Special thanks to Dr. Eitan Burstein