Römisches Institut der Görres-Gesellschaft
Two special stamps with Johann Peter Kirsch
The Vatican Philatelic Office and the Luxembourg Philatelic Office have issued two almost identical stamps depicting Johann Peter Kirsch (1861-1941) in front of the building of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology.
The stamps mark the 100th anniversary of the Pontifical Institute, whose founding director from 1925 until his death in 1941 was the Luxembourg prelate Johann Peter Kirsch. Kirsch died in Rome and was buried in the German cemetery in the Vatican.
The stamps are intended as a tribute to Kirsch, a great scholar and organiser of Catholic science, who was also a central figure in the Görres Society. It should not be forgotten that their creation is thanks to the determined efforts of Isabelle Mossong, herself a Luxembourg national, who has been studying Kirsch for many years.
The unveiling of the two stamps by Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Ambassador André Biever took place on 11 December during the academic ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology. The ceremony can be viewed here on YouTube (minute 46:00).
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- Written by: Stefan Heid
- Category: Roman notes