Unveiling of a stamp to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Argentina and Chile

A dispute resolved with the mediation of the Holy See

The Governorate of Vatican City State has issued a stamp to commemorate the narrow escape of a conflict between Argentina and Chile over the sovereignty of islands in the southernmost tip of South America, which was resolved thanks to the mediation of the Holy See.

The stamp recalls the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Argentina and Chile, on 29 November 1984, in Vatican City, and pays homage to the unforgettable masterpiece in diplomacy achieved by Cardinal Antonio Samorè, personal envoy of John Paul II to the mediation.

The stamp was unveiled on Monday morning, 25 November, in the Apostolic Palace’s Sala Regia, by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate. Also present at the ceremony were, Sr. Raffaella Petrini and Mr. Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, respectively, Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General, of the Governorate, Mr. Antonino Intersimone, Director of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems, and Fr. Felice Bruno., Office Manager of the Directorate,

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, the Ambassadors of Argentina and Chile to the Holy See, and their official delegations, also attended the unveiling ceremony.

The Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed by the Foreign Ministers of Argentina and Chile, Dante Caputo and Jaime del Valle Alliende, and by Secretary of State, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, as a witness of the Holy See’s involvement in the mediation process.

Issued by the Post and Philately Service of the Governorate’s Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems, the stamp depicts the Foreign Ministers of Argentina and Chile and representatives of the Episcopates of the two States, with John Paul II, who received them in audience on 30 November 1984.

The stamp will be issued with a special cancellation, depicting the Foreign Ministers of Argentina and Chile shaking hands, symbolically below the hand of Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, and bears the words: 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Argentina and Chile”, “Poste Vaticane” and the date of issue, (die emissionis), 25.11.2024.

The following is the address delivered by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, during the unveiling ceremony.

I greet Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and the Ambassadors of Argentina and Chile to the Holy See,

This act of commemorating 40 years since the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Argentina and Chile reminds me of many personal memories from that time.

On the occasion of the Second World Youth Day, Saint John Paul II had called young people to gather in Buenos Aires. The event, which took place on 11 and 12 April 1987, was the first international World Youth Day held outside of Rome. The celebration of that day took place during the last leg of Pope Wojtyła’s Apostolic Journey to Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. As President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Cardinal Eduardo Francisco Pironio, who was later proclaimed Blessed, accompanied the Pope on this journey. As his secretary, I remember those days well, especially when Cardinal Pironio, at the request of the Pontiff, participated in the commemoration of the Act of Montevideo between Chile and Argentina at Palacio Taranco, on 31 March 1987.

We know that war between the two brother nations was avoided by this Agreement, thanks to the mediation of Cardinal Antonio Samorè and his collaborators. As a great diplomat, the Cardinal was able to identify a solution to the dispute and avoid the use of force.

Saint John Paul II’s efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the countries, is also indisputable. On various occasions, Blessed Pironio spoke about how much time and energy the Pontiff had devoted to achieving peace, and trying to avoid the loss of human lives and suffering.

The stamp we are unveiling today bears a lasting witness to Saint John Paul II’s great search for peace and to the diplomatic skills of the Holy See. We are thus witnesses of the fact that the signing of these Agreements was the result of a masterpiece in mediation and reconciliation, in the field of international relations.