Jakarta, IO – The Communications and Informatics Ministry (Kominfo) together with PT Pos Indonesia launched a special series of stamps to commemorate Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia. The design depicts a portrait of the Pope in two poses and was issued on the day of his arrival on Monday (3/9).
Director of Post, Directorate General of Postal and Information Services, Gunawan Hutagalung, said that the issuance of the stamp has a historical significance.
“The issuance of the stamp is very important for all of us, because it will show that in Indonesian history, we have been visited by the Pope again. And this is immortalized in a stamp,” said Gunawan, as per Kominfo.go.id, Thu (4/9).
In the same vein, the Archbishop of Jakarta, Ignatius Cardinal Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, stated that the stamps have an important meaning because they have a special theme, namely “Faith, Fraternity and Compassion.”
“I am sure that the theme is not only a theme that applies to the Indonesian Catholic Church but also to our entire nation,” he said.
Read: Key highlights of Pope Francis’ Arrival in Indonesia
Those who are interested in buying can get them at the Philatelic Office and several main branch offices of Pos Indonesia from Bandung, Yogyakarta, to Pontianak.
In addition, the stamps can be purchased online through the PosPay application or Filateli.co.id. Indonesia is the first country visited by Pope Francis in his Asia Pacific odyssey. The visit took place on September 3-6. On September 5, he is scheduled to lead an open-air mass attended by more than 80,000 devotees. (un)