2017-11-29 Wed

The 2017 St. Gabriel award for the 2017 best religious stamp was given to Kosovo’s 2.10 stamp released to honour Mother Teresa’s canonization as a saint on 4th September 2016. The stamp depicts a portrait of Mother Teresa praying along with excerpts from her poem Farewell which was written when Mother Teresa was first traveling as a missionary to Calcutta.

St. Gabriel was "The Lord’s Postman" and this award was established in 1969 in Verona, Italy. Legnago hosts the award ceremony traditionally. Vatican City got special prices for its series of stamps depicting the seven works of mercy.

Two stamps symbolising "feed the hungry" and "give drink to the thirsty" were released on 1st February 2016. The next two stamps from the series were issued on 10th May; the next two on 13th September and the final stamp was released on 17th November. They also belonged to a larger series commemorating the Jubilee of Mercy.

Belgian stamps promoting tolerance, released on 14th October 2016, also received special prizes. The stamp features three prominent leaders of three religions: Rabbi Albert Guigui, Imam Khalid Benhaddou and Bishop of Antwerp Johan Bonny.

The Jury members for the award included Cardinal Christoph Shonborn, archbishop of Vienna; Luigi Bressan, bishop emeritus of Trento; Jamil Nassif Abib; Michalak Bogdan; Franco Filanci; Giorgio Migliavacca; Wilhelm Remes; Annemarie Stresser; and Jan Vallo.