Gibraltar-Vatican Joint Issue
The Vatican City State issued its first stamps in 1929, the same year that it was established under the Lateran Treaties. It released its first joint issue in 1969. Joint issues of stamps by the Vatican and other countries were uncommon for most of the twentieth century. In 2000, the Vatican and Poland released a joint issue designed by Czeslaw Slania which commemorated the eightieth birthday of John Paul II. However, the early twenty-first century saw a substantial increase in joint issues. In 2003, a set released by the Vatican and Poland celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of John Paul II's pontificate. The following year, a joint issue of the same countries commemorated the pope's return visits to Poland. In 2005, five of the eleven stamp sets released by the Vatican were joint issues. There have also been joint issues with Germany since Benedict XVI became Pope. In 2011, the Vatican and Croatia released a joint issue which commemorated the tercentenary of the birth of Rugerius Boscovich (1711 – 1787).
Second Vatican Council
At the same time, the world's bishops faced challenges driven by political, social, economic, and technological change. Some of these bishops sought new ways of addressing those challenges. The First Vatican Council had been held nearly a century before but had been cut short in 1870 when the Italian Army entered the city of Rome at the end of Italian unification. As a result, only deliberations on the role of the papacy and the congruent relationship of faith and reason were completed, with examination of pastoral issues concerning the direction of the Church left unaddressed.