In the final days of February, a follow-up meeting took place between Professors Daniel Joyce and Frank Klassner of Villanova University in Pennsylvania and the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate. The meeting forms part of an educational endeavor established in recent years and represents a continuation of a previous visit by the Directorate’s delegation—Davide Giordano and Monica Giuliano—to the American university in January 2026.
The Cathedral of Kyiv, a symbol of faith amid trials
The 12th anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral of the Greek-Catholic Church in Kyiv, the 20th anniversary of the return of the See of the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from Lviv to Kyiv, and the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Metropolitanate of Kyiv: these are the three anniversaries that the Vatican Postal and Philately Service of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems celebrates with the issuance of a postage stamp and special “die emissionis” postmark, an illustrative folder, and a commemorative envelope.
With great expectation and excitement, and following the installation of scaffolding in the Sistine Chapel, the extraordinary maintenance of Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment was begun during the final weeks of February 2026.
Extraordinary maintenance has commenced on Michelangelo’s monumental fresco The Last Judgment painted on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, following the completion of the scaffolding. The intervention has been made possible thanks to the generous contribution of the Florida Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums.
The Postal and Philatelic Service of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate of Vatican City State announces a new series of philatelic issues to be released on 26 February 2026. The six issues celebrate various anniversaries and special occasions related to the Pontiffs, international relations and Easter.
The second bulletin of this year from the Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature of the IAU (International Astronomical Union) announced that additional asteroids have been named after Jesuit scientists of the Vatican Observatory. Several asteroids, co-discovered by Vatican astronomer Fr. Richard P. Boyle, SJ, together with his long-time collaborator K. Černis (of Vilnius, Lithuania), using the Vatican Observatory’s VATT telescope on Mount Graham, have received official designations.
“Servant leadership in pastoral ministry” was the theme of the symposium attended by Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State. Organized for seminarians, counselors, students, and the Benedictine monastic community of the neighboring Mount Angel Abbey, the meeting took place on Friday, February 6, at Mount Angel Seminary in Saint Benedict, Oregon, U.S.A.
A prayer for the sick and those who care for them
“Today, on this day dedicated to the sick, we wish to pray in communion with all those who suffer throughout the world. We pray for you. I sincerely thank you for making the effort to come and to accompany us in this moment of prayer, here before our Mother Mary, on her liturgical memorial, Our Lady of Lourdes.” These were the words of Pope Leo XIV, spoken in front of the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on Wednesday morning, 11 February, after the General Audience.
On this day dedicated to Mary, we commemorate the 97th Anniversary of the founding of the Vatican City State
It was Thursday, February 11, 1858, when the Virgin Mary appeared to fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous at the Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes. It was the first of eighteen apparitions.
From February 23 to May 27, the Pontifical Lateran University will host the course entitled “Law of the Vatican City State,” coordinated by Matteo Carnì, Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Civil Law of the same University.
