the sheet depicts, in the background, a night view of the city of Washington, D.C., where the U.S.A. Federal Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta has its headquarters. Visible in the image are some of the main landmarks of the US capital, such as the Washington Monument and the Capitol, seat of the two branches of the United States Congress, with its distinctive dome. The sheet also bears, in the top centre on five lines, the inscriptions ‘SOVRANO MILITARE ORDINE DI MALTA’, ‘FEDERAL ASSOCIATION, U.S.A.’, ‘WASHINGTON D.C.’, ’50° Anniversario’, ‘1974-2024’. On the left is the American flag and on the right the emblem of the Order’s activities.

On the lower portion of the sheet are three photographic images, each constituting an additional stamp.

On the left, the € 1.25 stamp depicts a knight of the Federal Association, engaged in one of the many volunteering activities to assist the sick, poor or needy promoted by the Association.

On the right, the € 1.30 stamp depicts some dames of the Federal Association, intent on accompanying a sick person on an international pilgrimage to Lourdes. Since its first participation in 1987, the Federal Association has taken thousands of sick and needy people on pilgrimage to Lourdes every year, in pursuit of the Order’s motto of ‘Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum’.

In the centre, the € 2.45 stamp depicts the interior of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., during an investiture ceremony for the Association’s new knights and dames. St. Matthew’s Cathedral is the home of the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who holds the office of Chief Chaplain of the Federal Association.

Each stamp also bears the inscriptions ‘SOVRANO MILITARE ORDINE DI MALTA’, ‘POSTE MAGISTRALI’ and the coat of arms of the Order’s activities.

Photographs by the American Federal Association of the Order of Malta.