The Bible Society of India 21.2.2010

The Bible Society of India is a national, autonomous and independent body. It is a member society of the United Bible Societies (UBS). Bible societies are not affiliated to any one Christian denomination. The United Bible Societies is a World Fellowship of Bible Societies was incorporated in 1946 and BSI was one of its founding members. 

They work to serve all and develop products and services appropriate to local needs. This includes literacy development programme for those who cannot read, audio-products for those who are visually challenged and for helping people living with HIV/AIDS. The work is often done in partnerships with other Christian NGOs. Special programmes are developed for those with challenges such as women facing domestic violence and children living without parents and people in prison. 

For over 200 years, the Bible Society of India  has been serving the Indian Churches and society of all ethno-linguistic communities.

Centenary of Papal Seminary, Pune 16.12.1993

Sisters of Jesus & Mary 13.11.1992

Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara 20.12.1987

The first day cover depicts the St. Joseph's Church, in Mannanam.

Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara was a Syrian Catholic saint and social reformer from the Indian state of Kerala. He is the second canonised saint of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church of the Saint Thomas Christian community founded by St. Thomas the Apostle in the first century. He was the co-founder and first Prior General of the first congregation for men in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, now known as the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, and of a similar one for women, the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel.

St. Francis of Assisi - 800th birth anniversary 4.4.1983

A commemorative stamp on St. Francis of Assisi was issued on the occasion of his 800th birth anniversary, namely on 4.4.1983. The stamp shows the statue of St. Francis and Brother Falcon, by Giovanni Collina in La Verna ( Italy). The first day cover shows the lofty Church of St. Francis of Assisi in old Goa, which was completed in 1521 and rebuilt in 1661 keeping intact the old portico. It is 190 ft. long and 60 ft. wide. The outer architecture belongs to the Tuscan style and the interior to Corithian-mossaic.

Saint Francis of Assisi born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, but nicknamed Francesco (a tribute to France) by his father; 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226) was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis for men and women not able to live the lives of itinerant preachers, followed by the early members of the Order of Friars Minor, or the monastic lives of the Poor Clares. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history.

On July 16, 1228, he was proclaimed a saint by Pope Gregory IX. He is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment, and is one of the two patron saints of Italy (with Catherine of Siena). It is customary for Catholic and Anglican churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day. He is also known for his love of the Eucharist, his sorrow during the Stations of the Cross, and for the creation of the Christmas crèche or Nativity Scene.

St Francis Xavier 24.12.1974

Francis Xavier was born April 7, 1506. The 1974 stamp shows the sarcophagus and statue of the saint. These are located in the Bom Jesus Church in Goa. Xavier's sarcophagus crowns a marble monument, the gift of Cosmo III of Tuscany and executed by J.B.Foggini.

The Basilica of Bom Jesus or Borea Jezuchi Bajilika is located in Goa, India, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. The church is located in Old Goa, which was the capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule.

'Bom Jesus' (literally, 'Good (or Holy) Jesus') is the name used for the Ecce Homo in the countries of Portuguese colonization. The Jesuit church is India’s first minor basilica, and is considered to be one of the best examples of baroque architecture in India.

St. Thomas - 19th Death Centenary 3.7.1973

St Thomas Commemoration & 38th Eucharistic Congress in Bombay (now Mumbai) 2.12.1964