20 Lire - Ioannes Paulus II Preaching of Peace

The 1997 Vatican coin series, of which this piece is part, was issued during the final years of John Paul II's active pontificate before Parkinson's disease visibly curtailed his public appearances. By this point he had completed more pastoral visits to more countries than all previous popes combined — a fact that made "preaching of peace" less a symbolic caption than a straightforward biographical description.