Cancellation of the stamp dedicated to His Holiness Pope Francis to be held in Aglona

19.09.2018

Latvijas Pasts releases a new stamp and a cover in honour of the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Latvia on the 24^th of September 2018. The first day cancellation of the stamp is scheduled to be held on the day and in the place of the Pope’s visit at 8 Cirīšu Street, Aglona, on the 24^th of September 2018 from 9 AM to 7 PM.  

The print run of the stamp Pope Francis’ Visit to Latvia is 100,000 copies and its face value is € 0.61, which corresponds to the cost of sending a regular Class A letter within Latvia. The release of the stamp is accompanied by a special postmark and a cover with a print run of 3,000 copies. The new philatelic releases feature a portrait of Pope Francis and the building of Aglona Basilica. The stamp, the cover and the postmark have been designed by the artist Ģirts Grīva.

The pastoral visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Baltic states will take place from the 22^nd to the 25^th of September 2018, during which he will also visit Vilnius and Kaunas in Lithuania and Tallinn in Estonia. The Pope will visit Latvia on the 24^th of September – he is expected to take part in the ecumenical service at the Riga Dome Cathedral, as well as celebrate the Holy Mass in Aglona Basilica, meet with senior Latvian officials and representatives of the public and participate in the flower-laying ceremony at the Freedom Monument. 

Francis is the 266^th Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Vatican leader. He was born on the 17^th December 1936, and his birth name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio. On the 13^th of March 2013 Bergoglio was elected as the Pope, adopting the name of Francis. He became the first Jesuit, the first from the Southern Hemisphere and the first from the Americas to be elected as Pope. He is also the first head of the Roman Catholic Church in the last 1200 years who is from outside Europe. Francis is the first Pope after John Paul I who adopted a papal name that had not previously been used.

The new stamp and the cover can be viewed here.

The next philatelic release is scheduled for the 1^st of October.

About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with around 4,000 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.

Additional information:
Vineta Danielsone | Public Relations Specialist
Phone: +371 67608504
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; vineta.danielsone@pasts.lv
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