Occasion cards to mark bishops' consecration

Two occasion cards and a commemorative card are being issued by the Philatelic Bureau of Maltapost today to mark the inauguration of Mgr Paul Cremona as Archbishop of Malta and Mgr Mario Grech as Bishop of Gozo.

The occasion cards show Archbishop Cremona and Bishop Grech. The imprinted 51c stamp on these cards had originally been designed by the late Chev. E.V. Cremona and had been issued on February 9, 1960 to commemorate the 19th centenary of St Paul's shipwreck at Malta. It depicted the episcopal consecration of Malta's first Bishop, Publius.

The commemorative cover will carry two personalised stamps, with the images of Archbishop Cremona and Bishop Grech. The cover also shows the Maltese Islands, the crests of both bishops and the crozier.

Maltapost will be donating part of the proceeds from the sale of the occasion cards and the commemorative card to Id-Dar tal-Providenza.

These philatelic items will be on sale throughout the festivities being held on the occasion of the consecration of Archbishop Cremona, including today's meeting with children at Ta' Qali.

They will also be available through the Philatelic Bureau of Maltapost as from tomorrow. They will be available from all Maltapost retail outlets from Thursday.