Inauguration of a new mobile post office in Saint Peter’s Square, in the presence of Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga and General Manager of Poste Italiane, Mr. Giuseppe Lasco

Connecting the world

A new mobile post office has been inaugurated in Saint Peter’s Square, just a few days before the opening of the Holy Door.

The inauguration ceremony, with the symbolic handing over of the keys and the signing of the Act of Donation, took place on Thursday morning, 19 December.

Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and the General Manager of Poste Italiane, Giuseppe Lasco, cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony and signed the Act of Donation. Poste Italiane commissioned the project for the new post office to Amdl Circle and to the architect Michele De Lucchi, and then donated it to the Governorate.

After the official opening ceremony, the Cardinal offered a prayer and blessed the premises with Holy Water. A crucifix was placed on the left wall of the post office.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Sr. Raffaella Petrini and Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, respectively, Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Governorate, Mr. Salvatore Farina, Director of the Directorate for Infrastructures and Services, Mr. Antonino Intersimone and Mr. Luigi Salimbeni, respectively, Director and Deputy Director of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems, Fr. Felice Bruno, F.D.P., Office Manager of the Post and Philately Service, and Fr. Franco Fontana, Chaplain of the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services, and of the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage.

The new post office is already open to the public and available to the faithful, pilgrims and visitors seeking to purchase stamps, send correspondence or access any other services. It includes an area specifically dedicated to philately, which offers exclusive products.

The new post office has no architectural barriers, making it accessible to everyone. Shaped like a polygon, with 16 glass panels, it offers the public a comfortable waiting area and has three service counters.

The new prefabricated structure, which was designed to be dismantled quickly, is located in the precise location on the Square as the previous mobile post office. The diameter of the circular structure matches the length of the previous post office.

Its floors, its main load-bearing structure and furniture are made from wood, in an effort to reduce any environmental impact throughout its various stages of existence: initial construction, life cycle (assembly, dismantling, re-assembly) and its final disposal.

The following is the address prepared by the Cardinal President, which was not read out loud during the inauguration.

I cordially greet Sr. Raffaella Petrini and Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, respectively, Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General, of the Governorate,

Mr. Giuseppe Lasco, General Manager of Poste Italiane and the Delegation accompanying him,

Mr. Antonino Intersimone and Mr. Luigi Salimbeni, Director and Deputy Director of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems,

Mr. Salvatore Farina, Director of the Directorate for Infrastructures and Services,

Fr. Felice Bruno, Office Manager of the Post and Philately Service,

It is always a pleasure to participate in an inauguration, a festive occasion, in which a period of work, is followed by the time to enjoy the results.

Poste Italiane’s donation of this new post office is an expression of its willingness to contribute to provide a service to the millions of pilgrims who will pass through Saint Peter’s Square. It is even more significant that the inauguration of the new Vatican Post Office branch is taking place just a few days before the opening of the Holy Door that will mark the official start of the Jubilee.

It is an expression of the joint commitment of Poste Italiane and the Governorate of Vatican City State, to ensure a service, not only to pilgrims, but also to all the visitors who will visit Saint Peter’s Basilica in the future.

Far from being anecdotal, the role of the Vatican Post Office inside the State, is very important. The Vatican Post Office and Poste Italiane, with its more than 160 years of history, are charged with a mission to serve the public, ensuring a bond among people, throughout the territory.

Those who will enter the new post office will thus have the opportunity to connect themselves with the whole world, by sending mail, which unites people who are far from one another.

The post office is strategically located, which makes people’s lives easier and provides a local public service, in the same way as other services aimed at the community.

I would like to mention that the previous mobile Vatican post office, which had been located in the same site in Saint Peter’s Square as the new one, and had been in service since 20 December 2011, had also been the result of a collaboration with Poste Italiane. The vehicle had been donated by Poste Italiane and then readapted according to the demands of the Vatican.

Like then, the initiative arose from the need to have a post office branch that was located close to the faithful and to tourists, making our services more visible. The donation of these offices demonstrates a willingness to improve the postal services to meet the demands of customers.

This is the simple reason that inspired the founders of the State to provide basic services such as the postal one.

I would also like to highlight that the postal service has always been essential to the Vatican, in view of the universal mission of the Successor of Peter. Thus, ever since the State was founded on 11 February 1929, various steps were taken to activate it. On 1 June 1929, the State joined the Universal Postal Service, and on 30 July 1929, postal services were opened -- then too, thanks to the support of the Italian State and in particular, of Poste Italiane.

This is why, I am grateful and I renew my encouragement for an ever closer and productive cooperation between the two postal administrations. I would like to take the opportunity to pay homage to the work and the commitment of those who have offered their services to the Vatican Post Office throughout these decades.

Thank you, and I wish you and your families a Happy and Blessed Christmas.