Vatican City, Jan 19, 2009 / 12:55 pm
The Vatican Post Office will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Vatican City State by issuing seven stamps with the portraits of seven Popes on February 10.
The stamps will bear the portraits of the seven Popes who served as head of Vatican City State from 1922 to the present: Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
The issuance of the stamps will take place one day before the anniversary of the signing of the Lateran Accords on February 11, 1929, which guaranteed the full sovereignty of Vatican City State.
The Vatican Post Office will also issue a pamphlet that includes a map of Vatican City, which was guaranteed full sovereignty by the Accords signed 80 years ago by then Secretary of the Pontifical State, Cardinal Pietro Gasparri and Italian President Benito Mussolini. The original text of the Accords will also be included in a special exhibit that will go on display on February 12.