John Paul II exhibit gets pandemic-delayed stamp of approval 

 It was May 2019, and Anthony Sales’ attention was caught by headlines that the 100th anniversary of St. John Paul’s birth was one year away and the world would be celebrating.

As a philatelist who specializes in Pope John Paul II stamps, an idea was sparked.

“I immediately thought it would be a good idea to hold a philatelic exhibition to celebrate the birth centenary,” said Sales.

A member of the Knights of Columbus at St. Paul’s in Richmond, he prepared a proposal for an exhibition on the life and papacy of John Paul II, based on previous exhibits he had worked on – at St. Paul’s in Richmond in 2007 for the 125th Anniversary of the Knights of Columbus, and in Ottawa in 2011 commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Pope’s death.

The Knights agreed to organize an exhibition of stamps, souvenir sheets, and other postal material from post offices around the world. Taking place at St. Paul’s, the highlight would be a special picture stamp of John Paul II with a Canada Post pictorial postmark for the birth centenary in May 2020.

“We have had an exceptionally cordial relationship with Canada Post,” said Sales, “and they always promote philatelic activities whenever they can.” The centenary postmark would be the fifth from Canada Post, including one marking John Paul’s beatification in 2011 and another for his canonization in 2014.

Canada Post agreed and Sales submitted a design depicting John Paul II and the Minor Basilica of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Wadowice, Poland, where his spiritual journey began. The post office’s design team sent back a final proof for review, but before anything else could happen, COVID-19 struck. Canada Post’s offices were shut down and the Knights cancelled the planned exhibit at St. Paul’s. 

“There were several attempts to try and reschedule for this year, but in the end, we opted to cancel for the year and review to possibly hold it in 2021 or later.”

The committee members who had worked so hard to make the project a success were disappointed, said Sales. Then came a glimmer of hope. Realizing they needed the postmark to be issued in 2020, the centenary year, they contacted Canada Post, which agreed to issue the new cover – a stamped and postmarked card – dated Sept. 19, 2020.

The Knights seized on the opportunity to salvage something from the cancellation of the exhibition. They decided to organize a small, official unveiling of the centenary souvenir cover in 2020, the year of the centenary.

On Friday, Sept. 18, the John Paul II Pastoral Centre was the setting for a small gathering that included members of the Knights and Archbishop J. Michael Miller, who called the event “a novel and creative way” to honour the centenary of the birth of the secondary patron of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, “one of the very great men, not just popes, of the 20th century.”

The archbishop noted, “We’re at the St. John Paul II Pastoral Centre, we’re in the Karol Wojtyla Hall, there’s a great statue of the saint outside, and as you can see there’s a picture of him (on the wall). He’s, in a sense, all over the place, but he’s never been here in stamps before.”

Sales hopes the exhibit  can be rescheduled for the public in 2021.