Cardinal welcomes stamps
Nov 24, 2005
In a letter sent this week to the head of the Royal Mail Stamp Programme, Cardinal Keith O'Brien has congratulated the Royal Mail on the designs chosen for the 2005 first and second class stamps.
(thegoodnews.co.uk, 17 November 2005) Writing to Russell Hawkins, stamp programme manager at the Royal Mail's Philatelic Sector, Cardinal O'Brien says: "I was delighted to see the stamps produced with the traditional representation of the Madonna and Child.
"I assure you this will give very great pleasure to very many Christians in our country and throughout the world, who will receive the stamps on their Christmas mail."
The new stamps depict different images of the Madonna and Child from around the world; the first Class stamp features a twentieth century painting by British artist Marianne Stokes, while the second class stamp depicts a black Madonna and Child painted by an unknown Haitian artist.
They were designed by award-winning illustrator Irene Von Treskow, who became an Anglican minister in 1995.
It has been five years since Royal Mail last issued a non-secular set of stamps and it is now the intention to issue alternate secular and non-secular Christmas themes.
Cardinal O'Brien wrote to Royal Mail management in January 2005 criticising the use in previous years of exclusively secular images on Christmas stamps.
As well as sending a Christmas card to every one of the world's 180 Cardinals, Cardinal O'Brien will also send a card to Pope Benedict XVI together with a presentation First Day Cover of the 2005 designs.
Cardinal welcomes stamps