COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE
St. Mary's Church Centenary
Issue Date: 12 February 1999
17p - The Interior
The present interior of St. Mary's replaces a more elaborate arrangement.
It's simplicity is more in line with the renewed liturgy and is conducive to recollection and prayer.
The crucifix and the statue of the Virgin Mary were carved in the Tyrol.
The altar, lectern and pews were made in Ormskirk (UK) and the tabernacles of the Blessed Sacrament came from Belgium.
The stained glass windows have been saved from a demolished church (St. Mark's) in Southampton.
They were designed by Henry Holiday in about 1910.
40p - The Exterior
St. Mary's is a wooden prefacricated building, made in England in 1898 and erected in Stanley in 1899.
It was blessed the same year by Father Patrick O'Grady SDB, under the patronage of Mr Louis Baillon, a West Falkland farmer and a major contributor to the project.
The green roof at lower right (Teresa's in Barrack Street) was a Salesian Presbytery, home of Father Mario Migone.
He was the priest-in-charge for almost 40 years and during this time he made a lasting contribution to the life of the whole community.
He kept meteorological records, introduced electricity, ran the first cinema, and brought the Salesian Sisters to Stanley to run St. Mary's School.
75p - Laying of the Foundation Stone
The foundation stone for St. Mary's was laid on 12 February 1899.
It was for the fifth Catholic Church to be built in the Falkland Islands.
The earlier ones were those at Port Louis (1767 and 1801), the one on Pump Green (1873), and what is now St Mary's Hall (1866), the building in front of which the ceremony is taking place.
The drawing is based on a photograph taken on the occasion by George Biggs.
Several people can be recognised: Louis Williams, the owner of the Globe Store, the two Salesian Fathers Patrick Diamond and Patrick O'Grady (the priest-in-charge), Bill Peck and William Biggs, the grandfather of Irene Biggs.
The Barracks can be seen in the background on the right.
The Coat of Arms
The hillocks represent the Falkland Islands.
The star refers to the Virgin Mary, often given the title "Star of the Sea".
The hat with six tassles indicates that the ecclesial territory is an Apostolic Prefecture and not (yet) a diocese.
The motto reads "Insulis Maris Pax Christi", which means: May the peace of Christ abide with the distant Isles.
Technical details:
Design: James Peck
Printer: Walsall Security Printers Ltd
Process: Lithography
Stamp Size: 28.45 x 42.58 mm
Perforation: 14.1 per 2 cms
Copyright: FI Philatelic Bureau Created and Maintained by: Cyberpoint Limited