Trivia about the International Year of the Eucharist

The Year of the Eucharist is the name of the liturgical year from October 2004 to October 2005, as celebrated by Catholics worldwide. On June 10, 2004, Pope John Paul II announced the dedication of an entire year to the Blessed Sacrament and invited the entire Church to reflect upon the Eucharist.

The Philippines is known as the largest Catholic nation in Asia. Eighty-four percent of the population are devout Catholics with beliefs and practices anchored in the official teachings of the Catholic church and Catholic faith. Likewise, the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is an inseparable practice among Filipinos. 

In October 2004, at the 48th International Congress held in Guadalajara, Mexico, His Holiness, Pope John Paul II opened the International Eucharistic Year 2004-2005 for the whole world to celebrate. In the Philippines, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference (CBCP) declared a national yearlong celebration of the International Eucharistic Year with the theme “Celebrating the Eucharist with Mary”. 

To bring this awareness to greater heights and to bring the sectors of the youth and professionals to a deeper and meaningful encounter, the CBCP Permanent Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses and the Philippine Postal Corporation signed an agreement which launched the first ever Commemorative Stamp Design Contest. 

The results of the contest yielded 13 national winners in the elementary, high school, college, seminary-and professional categories. The awarding and culmination activity was held on December 8, 2005, the feast day of the Immaculate Conception. The first prize winning artworks and the logo, which is an original design of Ms. Telly Farolan-Somera, the executive secretary of the CBCP Permanent Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, are made into artistic stamps and were displayed for public viewing at the Manila CPO Lobby.