Magyar Posta is issuing a commemorative souvenir sheet in memory of Pope Francis. The special souvenir sheet and the associated philatelic products were designed by the graphic artist Barnabás Baticz. Forty thousand copies of the souvenir sheet were produced by the banknote printing company Pénzjegynyomda. The new issue goes onsale at Filaposta, philately specialist services, certain post offices and www.posta.hu from 12 September 2025.
Pope Francis (birth name: Jorge Mario Bergoglio) was born in Argentina in 1936. He was the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the head of Vatican City state from 2013 to 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Southern Hemisphere and the Americas, and the first pope born or raised outside Europe since Gregory III.
As a young man, he originally intended to be a chemist, graduating with a chemical technician’s diploma. After a serious illness, he joined the Jesuit order in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1969. He was the provincial superior of the Society of Jesus in Argentina from 1973 to 1979, archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 and a cardinal from 2001. He was elected pope in 2013 and took the name Francis in memory of St Francis of Assisi. Like his namesake, he led a simple, modest lifestyle, avoiding luxury and pomp.
Pope Francis was the first pope to visit Csíksomlyó, paying respect to the Hungarian Catholics in Transylvania. The mass was attended by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and the event became a symbol of national unity. Later, he made two official visits to Hungary. In 2021, he came to Budapest for the International Eucharistic Congress and celebrated the closing mass on 12 September. In 2023, he paid a three-day apostolic visit to Hungary, focusing on the future of Europe, peace, young people, solidarity and Christian values.
The frame of the numbered souvenir sheet features a full-length portrait of Pope Francis, while the stamp shows a half-length image of the Pope waving to the faithful. The first day cover features a full figure of the Pope in profile while praying and incorporates the papal coat of arms as the pattern of the background design. The main element in the imprint of the special postmark on the first day cover is a cross and the Latin motto of Pope Francis, “Miserando atque eligendo”, which means “By having mercy and by choosing”.
