Help your dear bishop!

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 8:33 pm

I am in need of urgent guidance from you...er...adult folk. You are wiser than I.

The issue is Airmail. I have never done this before. I am posting nowhither else but the Vatican City. Should I in britain write "Vatican City" OR "Citta del vaticano" ?

Thank you for your hopefully quick replies! I need this

Timothy · Post by **Timothy** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 8:47 pm

Vatican City is fine.

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:07 pm

But on the site it says citta del vaticano...do you think it would make a difference?

(btw thanks for replying Tim)

Post by **klewlis** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:54 pm

I doubt it will make a difference. The post people will know what you mean. :)

Lucan · Post by **Lucan** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:54 pm

I've sent packages to other foreign countries (Japan, Middle East etc.) and always written the english form of their country's name. So 'Vatican City' should be fine. Just get a certificate of posting if you're really worried.

Plus, writing 'citta del vaticano' is more likely to befuddle your post-office than help clarify things- and they're the ones who'll be putting it on the plane

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:20 pm

Many thanks Timothy, klewlis and Lucan. You have aided me well

I have never written a 2 line address before. It seems oddly unreal, but with a population of 850 it is not surprising. What a country.

Eureka · Post by **Eureka** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:31 pm

Episcopus wrote:Many thanks Timothy, klewlis and Lucan. You have aided me well

Aren't the next words supposed to be, "...and you shall be rewarded"?

MDS · Post by **MDS** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:46 pm

Out of curiosity what important package are you sending to the Vatican?

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:56 pm

Just a letter to the pope.

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:02 pm

Episcopus wrote:Just a letter to the pope.

Just.

Have you written, as you do here, as a Prince of the Church?

You wrote in Latin, I trust.

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:22 pm

Yes of course for my Italian is shameful

Eureka · Post by **Eureka** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:22 pm

annis wrote:You wrote in Latin, I trust.

I'm guessing it was Latin with French and German words thrown in.

Eureka · Post by **Eureka** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:24 pm

Episcopus wrote:Yes of course for my Italian is shameful

How's your Polish?

Timothy · Post by **Timothy** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:47 pm

Eureka wrote:Aren't the next words supposed to be, "...and you shall be rewarded"?

No, no, no, no, no!

The A response: 'Tis better to give than to receive.

Can you think of anything better than to be on the plus side of this equation?

(sorry, your eminence, but that one was just sitting there begging to be said.)

Vatican City is like The North Pole; letters know how to get there all by themselves. However, the chances of of the Pope reading them are equal to those of Santa reading his mail. OTOH, You may, if your Latin was sufficiently eloquent, be honored with a note from Fr. Foster. And that should please even you.

- Tim

bingley · Post by **bingley** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 3:35 am

As a general rule of thumb, if you are writing from one country to another put the name of the country you are writing to in the language of the country you are writing from. Thus, when writing to my family back in the UK from Indonesia, I would put INGGRIS at the end of the address.

Emma_85 · Post by **Emma_85** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:06 pm

And don't forget to put a EuropeanClass stamp and an air-mail sticker on your letter. Some people still try and get away with sending letters to Germany with a class two English stamp

(they aren't actually burned, but when they do arrive it's normally something like 6 months later with a note attached saying 'YOU PUT THE WRONG STAMP ON IDIOT!'

.

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:46 pm

Ah but Timothy the Pope should be reading these. You seem to know about their individual bishops. Have you written there previously?

I just sent it, the lady who was helpful wrote ITALY below the VATICAN CITY.

The Vatican is a state in its own right! She said she did that to give me 'a fighting chance' of it arriving there

Very comforting.

I made sure the airmail sticker went on

Geoff · Post by **Geoff** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 2:32 pm

Episcopus,

If you would be so kind. I'm sure that not a few are curious about the content of your letter. However, if you would rather keep it to yourself we understand.

Emma_85 · Post by **Emma_85** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 3:41 pm

Yeah, I'd like to know too... nothing to do with a Latin speaking football team, is it?
Never mind me...

Timothy · Post by **Timothy** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 5:10 pm

Episcopus wrote:Ah but Timothy the Pope should be reading these.

Well, of course, yours will be plucked out of the letters from
the 100 million or so faithful, naturally.

Episcopus wrote:You seem to know about their individual bishops.

Have you written there previously?

No. But...well, it's no big thing, My sister is a nun. She just celebrated
her 25 year. I had a Catholic education. Between the two things I spent alot
of time around the clergy. I know what they're like without their collars
or habits, etc. (hint; they're just people; some good, some bad.) For the
New York folks, I went to Archbishop Stepinac High School (Go Crusaders!)
which has the distinction of the being the alma mater of some very well
known actors. But lots and lots of priests. Bishops dropped by, a lot. A
Cardinal might come by to say howdy to an old friend. I served Mass for bishops
and one Cardinal. Lots of ceremony and all but underneath the cassock
are two human legs.

Anyway...when I think of Vatican City I think of my sister's "home office."

If I felt I needed to I wouldn't hesitate to contact _any_ priest, whether
he be a local parish priest, monsignor, bishop, or cardinal. The Pope, well,
I don't expect to need him before the others.

Episcopus wrote: I just sent it, the lady who was helpful wrote ITALY below the VATICAN CITY.
The Vatican is a state in its own right! She said she did that to
give me 'a fighting chance' of it arriving there Very comforting.

I made sure the airmail sticker went on

That sounds like she's worried about the postal system in Italy. If you
had an address to send it to, "Office of ..." from a web site, then use
that. it will just help it get directed when it gets to the Vatican Postal
Office.

Lastly, Fr. Foster is, last I knew, just a regular priest, a Carmelite,
though he may have been made a monsignor in order to do his job. He's the
priest that writes the Latin for the Pope. He writes the official Latin for
all the bulls and public speeches and the like. Not alone but, AFAIK, he
runs the department. So he's the go-to guy on Latin in the Latin Capitol
of this planet. BTW, can't write him as he doesn't use email. But you can
Google him on the net.

- tim

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 5:14 pm

The pope doesn't even write his own speeches?

But seriously you mistook me. The Pope will read what I sent him. And, as D'Ooge rightly says amabitur.

Lupus minimus · Post by **Lupus minimus** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 9:56 am

When I was in London two years ago, I wanted to send a letter to Switzerland, but wrote "Suisse" instead of "Switzerland". The guy at the post office refused to accept it. He said "What's this, sending a letter to Suzie?"
Post offices everywhere now speak (or at least read) English, so "Vatican City" should be fine, I guess,

jc

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 1:33 pm

Oh EFF

nooooooooooo you know the u is next to the i on the keyboard?

I put "Ipsus" instead of "Ipsis"

NOOOOOOOOOOO now it looks like I am not invincible.

They probably think that I think ipse to be 4th declension or some odd thing!
Plus it was my awesome DATIVE OF AGENT. NOOOOOOOOOO

you took the time to pick me up and let me down

Timothy · Post by **Timothy** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 2:12 pm

Episcopus wrote:Oh EFF
NOOOOOOOOOOO now it looks like I am not invincible.

Welcome to TextKit, monsignor!

- tim

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 2:16 pm

You don't understand it was a Dative of Agent as in Tacitus Annals!

Timothy · Post by **Timothy** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 2:45 pm

Episcopus wrote:You don't understand it was a Dative of Agent as in Tacitus Annals!

Oh! Dative of Agent! Well, that makes all the difference, then, doesn't it?
Dative of Agent...oh dear, oh dear!

Maybe you should post the whole thing here and we can go over it?

You'll feel better afterwards. Best to get these things out in the open.
Come on. Just a little maybe?

(you have us all at an unfair disadvantage. Me in particular)

- tim

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 3:24 pm

That just runs a big truck of latin all over my day does that. I am going to do some pressups.

Timothy · Post by **Timothy** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 4:00 pm

"...a big truck of latin..."

How expressive! It feels like that sometimes.

- tim

Episcopus · Post by **Episcopus** » Thu Aug 26, 2004 4:44 pm

hey Lupus thanks

You have given me some security.

I couldn't do any press ups, I realised I have cuts all over my hands from playing badminton far too much and insanely. At least the letter should be on the plane by now.