In 1999, Siesta Telecom heard the call from God when they placed a picture of Pope John Paul II, along with his signature, seal and a prayer on a prepaid phone card by the prepaid telephone card company “Siesta Telecom”.

I’m not sure if there are any holy hidden fee’s on this card but would feel more comfortable throwing an extra dollar in the collection plate than scratching the back of His Holiness looking for a PIN number. I can see the headline now: “Seas part to allow for 3cents per minute to Rome.” Below are pictures of the card, and a copy of the press-release.

Press Release

Miami, FL, Nov. 18, 1999 (DLD Digest) - Siesta Telecom Inc., the premier prepaid telephone-card company located in Sarasota, Fla., has announced the first- ever, prepaid phone card series of His Holiness Pope John Paul II.

The Vatican Card Series will feature never-before-seen images of Pope John Paul II, along with his personal signature, seal and accompanying prayer — the first time ever these items have been presented together by the Vatican.

Four images in the Series will be released this year and the remaining four will be released in 2001.

“The Vatican selected Siesta Telecom to exclusively offer these cards for the next two years,” said Signore Claudio Grisanti, Department of Secretary of State, Vatican City. “These cards provide a unique way to fund the Holy Father’s personal priority of family programs because Siesta Telecom is donating one dollar from each card to the Vatican for that purpose. In addition, parishes who wish to sell the cards in their communities will also keep part of the profits. This is a creative and very effective way for His Holiness to reach out and touch millions of people in the United States and Latin America.”