This is the moment…
that marks 100 years of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Panama. A stamp was commemorated for the occasion, to demonstrate the strong ties between the two states.
High-ranking Church officials were present at the event organized by the Panamanian embassy. From the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, to the highest ranking woman in the Vatican, Sr. Raffaella Petrini.
SR. RAFFAELLA PETRINI
Secretary General, Vatican City State
The message was summed up in the image of the two flags merging against a background of reassuring and hopeful harmony. The solidity of the ties between the Holy See and the Republic of Panama, as the Cardinal Secretary of State also recalled, has been underlined several times by the popes during these first 100 years of diplomatic relations.
Sr. Petrini says that one of the gestures that demonstrates this bond was World Youth Day 2019. Pope Francis traveled to Panama to meet with young people from around the world—something that the Ambassador to the Holy See fondly recalls.
MIROSLAVA ROSAS
Ambassador, Republic of Panama to the Holy See
During the three years of preparations, and after the celebration, the young people have identified our capital city and our compatriots as the scene of a decisive moment in their lives. There, they made decisions that have marked their future, whether in the area of love, marriage, dedication to God, priestly vocation or consecrated life.
Prior to the presentation of the stamp, a Mass was celebrated in the Roman Church of San Lorenzo in Damaso. It was presided over by Cardinal Pietro Parolin in the presence of embassy staff and the diplomatic corps.
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