Rome, 16th March 2023 – The Magistral Post Office today announced the Sovereign Order of Malta’s stamp issue programme for the year 2023. The list consists of seventeen issues that will take place in March, May, June, September and December.

In 2023, in accordance with 2022, the stamps will be characterised by a strong adherence to the values and traditions of the Order’s historical, artistic and spiritual heritage, as well as the hospitaller and charitable activities that have been the Sovereign Order of Malta’s main mission for over nine centuries.

The issues will be dedicated to the Order of Malta’s national institutions (the Military Corps of the Association of Italian Knights and the Western Association of the United States of America), to the Order’s hospitaller activities with reference to assistance to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, and to the memory of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. And again, the Magistral Post stamps will celebrate the Italian Air Force, on the centenary of its establishment, with a joint issue with the Vatican City and Italy. Other joint issues are planned with the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Panama, respectively on the 30th and 75th anniversaries of diplomatic relations with the Order of Malta. In continuity with the past, the two series traditionally dedicated to St. John the Baptist and to Our Lady of Philermos, respectively Patron and Protector of the Order of Malta, are confirmed.

 

The Sovereign Order of Malta has a history of almost a thousand years and has had its seat of government in Rome since 1834. A primary body under international law, it maintains bilateral diplomatic relations with 112 States including the Italian Republic and the Holy See, and has official representations to the United Nations, the European Union and numerous International Organisations. Its activities in more than 120 countries around the world focus on socio-medical assistance and relief for victims of conflicts or natural disasters.

Since 1966, the Order has had its own postal operator, the Magistral Post Office, through which it is possible to send mail to Italy and 57 other countries – with which the Order of Malta has signed special agreements – franked with stamps of the Order of Malta which, since 1 January 2005, have a face value expressed in euro and correspond to the postal rates in force in Italy.