Now the task
becomes more difficult. Pope Pius XI called a special Holy Year in 1933, again
to commemorate the 1900th anniversary of the death and resurrection
of Christ. He also presided over the 1925 Holy Year. Postcards from both can be
found.
Postcards with a Holy Year Theme
By the Rev. Joseph Neiman
Whether this is the millennium year or not, the year 2000 offers a very interesting collecting theme within the larger topical area of religious postcards. It is the Jubilee theme, also called in Latin Anno Santo or Jubilaeum. The year 2000 has been called a Jubilee year by many Christian denominations as well as by people interested in one dimension of a Jubilee celebration, that is, the elimination or reduction of the massive debt in impoverished nations. One need only check the Internet to see the many Jubilee organizations and activities underway (www.jubilee2000uk.org).
The concept of Jubilee is found in the Bible in the Book of Leviticus, chapter 25. One verse should be familiar to Americans as it is inscribed on the Liberty Bell: "You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land…" (Lev. 25:10). The regulations in Leviticus call for the fiftieth year to be a special time of rest for the land, the forgiveness of debts, the liberation of captives, and in essence, a redistribution of wealth. Whether this was actually practiced or was a moral ideal remains a subject of debate among scholars.
The postcard theme comes from the Roman Catholic celebrations of the Jubilee, which are usually called a Holy Year. Such contemporary postcards are plentiful. In 1998 and 1999 the Vatican postal authorities published postcards and stamps with portraits of the popes who have presided over Holy Years from 1300 to 2000. Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed the first Holy Year in 1300, and eventually the Catholic Church adopted a pattern of celebrating Holy Years every twenty-five years.
A collector can begin with the current series of postcards issued by the Philatelic Office of the Vatican City State between 1995 and 2000. Each year special pre-Jubilee stamps were issued and published on maxi-cards as well. The scenes over the five years present meaningful events in the life of Jesus taken from illuminated manuscripts in the Vatican Apostolic Library. Each card is marked with the phrase: Verso L'Anno Santo del 2000 (Toward the Holy Year 2000). There are also many postcards printed this year with the theme Jubilaeum 2000 or Holy Year 2000.
From the contemporary postcards, a collector can proceed back through history collecting cards from other Holy Years, often marked Anno Santo.
Four brightly colored modernistic painted scenes were printed on postcards during the extraordinary Holy Year called by Pope John Paul II in 1983 to commemorate the 1950th anniversary of the death of Christ. There are also cards showing the Pope kneeling before the Holy Door, a special door in each of the four basilicas a pilgrim is expected to visit during a Holy Year. These include St. Peter's Basilica, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul's Outside the Walls. The four churches are frequently pictured on postcards celebrating Holy Years. The special door in each symbolizes crossing the threshold into a renewed life of faith. Jesus is called the door or gate through which "the sheep" enter in order to have "abundant life" in the Gospel of John (Jn 10:9-10). Many postcards exist which show these Holy Doors in one dimension or another.
Next moving backwards through the years are the postcards from the 1975 Holy Year. They present the four basilicas, Pope Paul VI, the Holy Doors, and other scenes. They are not too difficult to find. The task becomes more difficult with older Holy Year postcards.
In 1950 there are cards portraying Pope Pius XII opening the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve, the traditional time for launching the coming Holy year. One very interesting postal piece is a threefold card which opens to portray Pope Pius XII in the center and surrounded on the edges by small portraits of earlier popes who presided over Holy Years.
Now the task
becomes more difficult. Pope Pius XI called a special Holy Year in 1933, again
to commemorate the 1900th anniversary of the death and resurrection
of Christ. He also presided over the 1925 Holy Year. Postcards from both can be
found.
Pope Pius XI opening the Holy Door
in St. Peter's in 1925
Are there postcards from the Holy Year of 1900 and earlier? Well, this collector is still looking. There are stamps commemorating the Holy Years from 1933 through 2000. Countries which have published them include Italy, Ireland, Spain, San Marino, Monaco, Angola, and Saar to name a few. But are there also postcards from any of these countries?
Postcards related to Jubilee or Holy Years are of particular interest in this year when the Jubilee theme is so prominent, but like many themes within the topical area of religion, adding the older postcards to one's collection poses an interesting challenge.
[The Rev. Joseph C. Neiman is an Episcopal priest and pastor of St. Mark's Church in Paw Paw, MI. He collects stamps and postcards with religious themes. He is also editor of The Western Michigan Episcopalian, the newspaper for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan.]
[This article was published in Postcard Collector for November 2000, page 50-51.]