On July 31, 1956, the Vatican Postal Administration released a set of two commemoratives to honor the fourth centenary of the death of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The date chosen for their release is the feast day of St. Ignatius.
The design was executed by Casimira Dabrowska, who used a detail of an oil painting showing a scene of September 27, 1540, "Ignatius Presents the Society's Rules to Pope Paul III." The stamps were printed from plates engraved by Canfarini in panes of forty-five stamps at the State Printing Office, Rome. The paper on which they were printed was watermarked with the Crossed Keys. The selvage is without inscriptions as to number of stamps or value of the sheet. There are no corner inscription blocks available in this issue.
