The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, located in southern Rome, is famous for its long frieze of mosaics depicting all the popes throughout history. Overlooking the five naves of the building, these medallion portraits occupy circular niches nearly two meters (6.5 feet) in diameter.
They feature all the pontiffs since St. Peter, each against a background of gold tesserae.
On April 21, the day Pope Francis died, the lighting that had illuminated the portrait of the Argentine pontiff since 2013 was turned off.
After the election of Leo XIV, work on the portrait of the 267th pope didn’t begin immediately. In June, scaffolding was erected at the height of the niche intended to house the new mosaic, but it was eventually removed at the beginning of July.
The space reserved for the medallion of Leo XIV is still empty, but haloed by the light that’s already shining on it to signify that a new pontificate has begun.
“Work has been done to prepare the niche for the mosaic, but we will have to wait a little longer to see it,” says a guardian of the basilica. “Probably several months,” he adds.
In 2013, it was necessary to wait until December 9 — almost nine months after Francis' election — for the portrait of the Argentine pope to be installed.
A tradition dating back to the 5th century
The tradition of papal mosaics in St. Paul Outside the Walls is very old. It dates back to the pontificate of Leo I in the 5th century, although most of the mosaics created thereafter were destroyed in the fire of July 15, 1823, which reduced most of the basilica to ashes.
It was Pope Leo XII who, the following year, launched the reconstruction project, which was completed in 1854 during the pontificate of Gregory XVI.
During the work, the 40 or so surviving mosaics — depicting popes from the 5th to the 9th centuries — were transferred to the Benedictine abbey adjacent to the basilica. The format of the current mosaics, known as “tondi,” was then established and integrated into the new architecture of the site.
In papal basilicas, many walls are decorated with mosaics, notably those of St. Peter's, which has no paintings. For this, in the heart of the Vatican, the popes can count on the expertise of the members of an institution founded in the 16th century, the Mosaic Workshop.
This workshop, renowned throughout the world for both its creations and its expertise in restoration, is currently working on the medallion for Leo XIV. When it’s installed, the craftsmen will also add the dates of the beginning and end of Francis' pontificate under his portrait.
