First official Medal of the first year of the Pontificate of Pope Francis

Vatican City, 05 October 2013: The first official Medal commemorating the first year of the Pontificate of Pope Francis will go on sale Tuesday, October 8, a Vatican communique revealed on Saturday. It is the work of the artist Mariangela Crisciotti, and is coined by the Italian State Printing Office and Mint in gold, silver and bronze, with a diameter of .44 mm.
The medal has the face of the Supreme Pontiff in frontal pose, blessing, with skullcap and stole. Around the image are the words: FRANCISCUS PONT . MAX . AN. I. To the right, the surname of the artist is given in miniature. On the edge are the words: THE VATICAN AND CIVITATE and the number of the Medal.

On the reverse side of the medal shows the expression, taken from the Homilies of St. Bede the Venerable, ERGO JESUS ​​PUBLICANUM ET QUIA miserable Atque eligendo vidit , AIT ILLI SEQUERE ME, surrounding the depiction of the call of Matthew. This phrase has deeply marked the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio on the feast of St. Matthew in 1953, when he was 17 years old, he experienced in a very special way the loving presence of God in his life. Following a confession, he felt in his heart the descent of the mercy of God, and that he felt called to the religious life, following the example of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Each Medal is accompanied by a guarantee certificate with the embossed stamp of the Secretary of State and the Italian Mint.
The number of models minted will not exceed 400 in Triptych, 200 in Gold, 3000 each in Silver and Bronze.

These Medals will be on sale at the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See in the State of the Vatican City and at the Libreria Editrice Vaticana, in the premises of St. Peter's Square.
Source: VR Sedoc