# M11202 - 2012 85th Birthday of Pope Benedict XVI, Mint, Sheet of 4 Stamps, Tanzania
Mint Stamps Honor Pope Benedict's 85th Birthday
Pope Benedict began his birthday celebration on April 16, 2012 by delivering mass. During the mass, he said, “I am facing the final leg of the path of my life and I don't know what's ahead… I know though that God's light is there ... and that his light is stronger than every darkness.”
Later in the day, the Pope went to the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, where he was joined by 150 Bavarians, including Bishops, political leaders, and representatives of the area’s Protestant and Jewish communities. A group of 10 children dressed in traditional Bavarian clothes danced for the Pope and recited a poem. There were also Bavarian musicians who performed a song that he had once sang with his siblings as a child while his father played a zither. Overwhelmed with emotion at the performances, Benedict stated that the people there “represent[ed] for me the stations of my life.”
In the Pope’s hometown of Marktl Am Inn, many of his followers woke at 4:15 a.m. (the time of his birth) and walked from his house to the local church to pray. Among the many gifts he received that day were a large crucifix, Maypole, traditional Bavarian Easter Basket, and a book of 20 essays by prominent Germans about the papacy. Among the writings was one by German football star Franz Beckenbauer, who recalled meeting the Pope months before Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup.
Now you can add a piece of Pope Benedict's 85th birthday celebration to your collection with this neat mint sheet.
Mint Stamps Honor Pope Benedict's 85th Birthday
Pope Benedict began his birthday celebration on April 16, 2012 by delivering mass. During the mass, he said, “I am facing the final leg of the path of my life and I don't know what's ahead… I know though that God's light is there ... and that his light is stronger than every darkness.”
Later in the day, the Pope went to the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, where he was joined by 150 Bavarians, including Bishops, political leaders, and representatives of the area’s Protestant and Jewish communities. A group of 10 children dressed in traditional Bavarian clothes danced for the Pope and recited a poem. There were also Bavarian musicians who performed a song that he had once sang with his siblings as a child while his father played a zither. Overwhelmed with emotion at the performances, Benedict stated that the people there “represent[ed] for me the stations of my life.”
In the Pope’s hometown of Marktl Am Inn, many of his followers woke at 4:15 a.m. (the time of his birth) and walked from his house to the local church to pray. Among the many gifts he received that day were a large crucifix, Maypole, traditional Bavarian Easter Basket, and a book of 20 essays by prominent Germans about the papacy. Among the writings was one by German football star Franz Beckenbauer, who recalled meeting the Pope months before Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup.
Now you can add a piece of Pope Benedict's 85th birthday celebration to your collection with this neat mint sheet.