An Post, Ireland’s national postal service, will issue a new set of stamps to commemorate the upcoming World Meeting of Families 2018 which takes place in Dublin from 21 to 26 August. The new stamps were introduced in the latest issue of the quarterly An Post booklet The Collector and will be issued on 26 July.
The two new stamps – one an image of Pope Francis, who will visit Ireland to attend the events of WMOF 2018, and the other an image of a family walking on a beach – and first day covers are designed by Vermillion Design, beased on Distillery Road, Dublin 3. The stamps will carry values of €1 and €1.50.
The commemorative stamps and the first day cover can be purchased on www.irishstamps.ie.
Pope Francis will visit the 9th World Meeting of Families which will take place in Dublin from 21–26 August. The 2018 theme is ‘The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World’. Held every three years, this major international event brings together families from across the world to celebrate, pray and reflect upon the central importance of marriage and the family as the cornerstone of our lives, of society and of the Church.
The main events of WMOF2018 will take place in Dublin but related events, including the hosting of international groups, will take place all over the island of Ireland.
The following key moments make up WMOF2018:
- A National Opening on Tuesday 21 August which will take place simultaneously in each of the dioceses of Ireland;
- A three day congress from 22-24 August in the RDS, Dublin;
- A Festival of Families on Saturday 25 August, comprising a reflective concert style event within a prayerful and joyful atmosphere, in which personal stories of faith will be shared by families from all continents;
- A Closing Mass will be celebrated on Sunday 26 August with thousands of people from Ireland and across the world.
All 500,000 tickets for the Closing Mass, as well as tickets for the other World Meeting events are now booked out.
The full schedule for the World Meeting of Families and the itinerary for Pope Francis’ visit, as well as information regarding transport and for those with accessibility requirements, can be found on www.worldmeeting2018.ie.
