Street artist of 'Super Pope' fame gets new stamp of Vatican approval

Street artist Maupal, whose cartoon-like depictions of Pope Francis as a “Super Pope” have graced buildings around the Vatican for a decade, has gotten an official stamp of approval

ROME -- Street artist Maupal, whose cartoon-like depictions of Pope Francis as a “Super Pope” have graced buildings around the Vatican for a decade, got an official stamp of approval on Thursday when he appeared at a Vatican news conference.

Maupal, in life Mauro Pallotta, designed a series of posters to illustrate Francis’ 2024 Lenten message, which this year emphasizes the need for the faithful to let go of hopelessness and bondage to find a path of inner freedom. The posters will be released weekly over the course of this Lenten season leading up to Easter.

Sitting next to one of Francis’ closest advisers, Cardinal Michael Czerny, Maupal said he never sought out official recognition from the Vatican but was “proud and honored” to have been asked to depict Francis’ message in art.

“Representing Christian values via art has always been one of the greatest goals of painting and sculpture,” Maupal told reporters. “I have tried to synthesize the profound concepts expressed by the Holy Father through pictorial language in a simple, easily readable style."

In the first poster released on Thursday, Francis is shown walking through a desert field of upturned nails, hauling a wheel barrel with a heavy sack and the word “Faith” written on the sack. “Through the desert, God leads us to freedom,” reads the text, taken from the title of the pope’s message.