On April 5, 1990, Vatican City issued a series of three stamps commemorating the 450 th anniversary of the death of St. Angela Merici.
St. Angela Merici was born in 1474 in Desenzano, northern Italy. In her youth, she decided to devote herself to a life of prayer and penance. Later she became a Franciscan tertiary and gave catechism lessons to the children of Desenzano and Brescia. In 1535, Angela founded the Company of St. Ursula, the first Catholic order dedicated to the education of girls. It was originally a secular order for women who could not or did not wish to enter monastic life. However, shortly after Angela's death, her original Company evolved into a formal religious order whose members take vows, wear habits, and live together in communities.
The 700-lire stamp depicts the vision of the mystical stair, Prophecy of the Ursulines. The 800-lire stamp depicts St. Angela Merici guiding her spiritual daughters in the practice of the evangelical counsels. The 2,800-lire stamp depicts the mission of St. Angela Merici continued by the Ursulines, both lay and religious consecrated women.
This is not the first time that St. Angela Merici has appeared on a Vatican stamp. Her image also appears on the 25-centesimi value of the 1946 Council of Trent Series (Scott #111).
Sister A. R. Porro designed the stamps. The Italian State Polygraphic Institute and Mint printed 450,000 complete series. The stamps are vertical in format, measure 30 x 40 mm, and have a perforation of 13 1/4 x 14. The firm produced the stamps by rotogravure on white chalky paper, and they were issued in sheets of twenty. Along the right side of each stamp appears the inscription S. ANGELA MERICI 1540-1990, and at the bottom appear the words POSTE VATICANE and the value.
Crimando, Thomas. "Death of St. Angela Merici." Vatican Notes 39, no. 1 (July 1990): 1.
