Vatican Takes Licking on Stamp Error

A Vatican postage stamp issued to commemorate Pope John Paul II’s trip to Scandinavia contains a mistake in Latin, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The Latin writing on the stamp was supposed to say: “John Paul the Second Visits Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden,” but instead of the Latin word for Sweden-- Svetiam --the stamp has Svebiam , the agency reported. Svebiam means Swabia, a region in southwest West Germany.

Father Carlo Eger, director of the Vatican Latin foundation’s magazine, Lattinitas, told ANSA that the mistake “is a huge error that should have been avoided.”

He added: “Latin, unfortunately, is on the decline even in the Vatican.”