The Vatican has unveiled a new postage stamp honouring Ukraine’s Catholics, featuring a striking image of Kyiv’s Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ during a blackout.
This design marks an unusually pointed reference to the daily struggles faced by Ukrainians amid the ongoing war.
Typically, the Vatican Postal Service avoids political themes in its stamp designs, usually opting for religious figures or holidays.
However, this new stamp, released during the week of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, depicts the cathedral darkened by a lack of electricity but illuminated by an evening sky.
Blackouts have become a common experience across Ukraine as Russia continues to target the country’s energy infrastructure.
Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who leads Ukraine’s four million Eastern-rite Catholics, described the stamp’s release at a Vatican event as “a great moment of consolation.”
“We really feel embraced by the Holy See for this particular attention to our history, to our life in this tragic moment of war,” Shevchuk said, speaking Italian.
The Vatican stamp was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the restoration of Kyiv’s Catholic diocese after the fall of the Soviet Union and the 12th anniversary of the cathedral’s construction.
The cathedral has also served as a bomb shelter during the war. Shevchuk called it a “centre of resistance”.
Around 10 per cent of Ukrainians belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which follows Eastern rites but recognises the authority of the pope and is in communion with Rome. A majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Orthodox.
Pope Leo made an impassioned appeal on Sunday for peace in Ukraine, saying an end to the war with Russia “cannot be postponed”. The US is trying to broker a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv but so far without success.
Tens of thousands of tourists visit the Vatican daily. Many buy stamps at Vatican post office branches, including in St. Peter’s Square, often to send postcards home.
The new stamp carries a value of 1.35 euros ($1.60), the cost of delivery of a regular-size letter to destinations across Europe.
The Vatican, a tiny sovereign state within Rome, has maintained an independent postal service since 1929.
