Vatican issues 'sede vacante' postage stamps valid until a new pope is elected

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Vatican post offices and selected collectors’ shops this week started selling special stamps marking the period between Pope Francis' death and the election of his successor.

The so-called “sede vacante” stamps include an image used by the Vatican in official documents in periods between popes: two crossed keys but no papal headgear. They went on sale Monday and will only remain valid until a new Holy Father appears at the window of St. Peter’s.

Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards and packages. “With the election of the new pope, they lose the postal value, but the collectible value goes up,” Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collector’s shop across from St. Peter’s Square, said Tuesday.

The Vatican printed stamps in four face values: at 1.25 euros ($1.42), 1.30 euros, 2.45 euros and 3.20 euros. They carry the words “Citta del Vaticano” — Vatican City — and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” - vacant See 2025.

All bear a reproduction of the same image: three angels holding up a canopy shielding the symbolic papal keys against a background of white clouds.

The last time the Vatican issued stamps for the interregnum between popes was in 2012, when Benedict XVI broke tradition and retired. The issuing of sede vacante stamps dates from 1929.

Starting on May 7, cardinals will gather to elect Francis’ successor. It is not known how long the secret election will last.

A view of the Filitalia stamps, coins, and souvenirs shop just next to the Vatican walls, in Rome, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Ermenegildo Santarossa sits in his Filitalia stamps, coins, and souvenirs shop next to the Vatican walls in Rome, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Ermenegildo Santarossa, right, and his son Francesco stand in their Filitalia stamps, coins, and souvenirs shop just next to the Vatican walls, in Rome, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Ermenegildo Santarossa sits in his Filitalia stamps, coins, and souvenirs shop next to the Vatican walls, in Rome, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A person enters the Filitalia stamps, coins, and souvenirs shop just next to the Vatican walls in Rome, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People walk past the Filitalia stamps, coins, and souvenirs shop next to the Vatican walls in Rome, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A waiter carries coffees as he walks past the Filitalia stamps, coins, and souvenirs shop just next to the Vatican walls, in Rome, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A series of 2025 Vatican Vacant Seat stamps are on display in the Filitalia stamps, coins, and souvenirs shop next to the Vatican walls, in Rome, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who authorities say tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives and tried to kill President Donald Trump will appear Thursday in court as a judge decides whether Cole Tomas Allen will remain behind bars while awaiting trial.

In pressing for Allen's continued detention, prosecutors have alleged that he planned his attack for weeks and tracked Trump's movements online before he ran through a magnetometer at the Washington Hilton while holding a long gun and disrupted one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation's capital.

Allen was injured during the attack but was not shot. A Secret Service officer was shot but was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and survived, officials say. Prosecutors have said they believe Allen fired his shotgun at least once and that a Secret Service agent fired five shots. They have not publicly confirmed that it was Allen's bullet that struck the agent's vest.

In a letter to prosecutors on Wednesday, Allen's lawyers alleged that some of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's statements “indicate that the recovered ballistics evidence is inconsistent with aspects of the government’s theory, evidence collected by the government and/or statements made by witnesses.”

The Justice Department, in response, said the evidence shows Allen fired his shotgun at least once in the Secret Service agent's direction. Investigators recovered at least one fragment at the crime scene that is consistent with a buckshot pellet, prosecutors wrote.

"The government is aware of no physical evidence, digital video evidence, or witness statements that are inconsistent with the theory that your client fired his shotgun in the direction" of the officer or that the officer "was indeed shot once in the chest while wearing a ballistic vest," prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors said in court papers that Allen took a picture of himself in his hotel room just minutes before the incident, and that he was outfitted with an ammunition bag, a shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife. In a message that authorities say sheds light on his motive, Allen referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and alluded obliquely to grievances over a range of Trump administration actions, according to writings sent to family members shortly before shots were fired Saturday night. The Associated Press reviewed the writings.

Allen's lawyers are pressing for his release, arguing in court papers that the government's case is “based upon inferences drawn about Mr. Allen’s intent that raise more questions than answers.” They defense noted that Allen's writings never mentioned Trump by name.

"The government’s evidence of the charged offense –- the attempted assassination of the president –- is thus built entirely upon speculation, even under the most generous reading of its theory," defense lawyers wrote.

Allen was charged on Monday with that crime, as well as two additional firearms counts, including discharging a weapon during a crime of violence. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the assassination count alone.

Allen, 31, is from Torrance, California. He is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.

President Donald Trump speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after an unspecified threat at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice, April 29, 2026, shows some of the weapons and shotgun ammunition that Cole Tomas Allen possessed, Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Washington. (Department of Justice via AP)

U.S. Secret Service agents surround President Donald Trump before he was taken from the stage after a shooting incident outside the ballroom during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice, April 29, 2026, shows Cole Tomas Allen, left, inside his hotel room, on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Washington, using his cellphone to take a photograph of himself in the mirror. An enhanced version of the image is right. (Department of Justice via AP)

U.S. Secret Service agents respond on stage during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)