1955 Brazilian Padre Bento Stamp

A Brazilian "Padre Bento" postage tax stamp circa 1955.

In my post about the Buda Castle commemorative, I discussed a mammoth stamp that you just might have in your collection. Now here's a stamp you may have in your collection that just might be one of the smallest!

In 1955, Correios Brasil (the Brazilian postal service) issued a series of postal tax stamps commemorating one of Brazil's national heroes: Father Bento Dias Pacheco, or "Padre Bento". Padre Bento was a priest who initially served the slaves in the Itu district around the city of São Paulo, but later on would dedicate his life to serving people suffering with Hansen's disease, or leprosy. He lived in a leper's colony at Finca de Piedade and helped the people there with their daily needs. He dressed and cleansed their wounds and helped those who could no longer see or walk. For forty-two years Padre Bento put the welfare of these people before his own and dedicated his every waking hour to them. He served the patients at Finca de Piedade until his dying day in 1911.

Father Bento Dias Pacheco. (Wikimedia Commons)

In Brazil, he is remembered as a hero and a role model. He is buried at the Igreja do Senhor do Horto e São Lázaro church in the Itu neighborhood named Padre Bento in his honor. For the past decade a campaign for the Vatican to beatify and canonize Padre Bento as a saint has been underway in Brazil, where he is remembered as a man who answered his calling and dared to go where other people feared to tread.

This stamp features a portrait of Padre Bento and the inscription Preservacao da crianca contra o mal de Hansen ("[Protecting] the [children] against the evil of Hansen's Disease). This series is a multi-colored set issued in 10 centavos denominations. In 1963, this series (Scott # RA10) was re-issued, but with the inscription Correios do Brasil in a different font.

This stamp may be small, but it tells the story of an amazing man who is not very well-known outside of Brazil!

Links:
-http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bento_Dias_Pacheco (Entry in Portugese Wikipedia about Bento Dias Pacheco.)