Pope Leo XIV was presented with the mosaic of his portrait that will be placed in the line-up of popes at the top of the nave of St. Paul Outside the Walls, some 43 feet off the ground.
The Vatican Mosaic Studio of the Fabric of St. Peter completed the mosaic.
It has a diameter of nearly 54 inches and is created with glass and gold at the studio, which uses the ancient cut-mosaic technique.
Vatican News reported that the mosaic is based on a painted sketch by Rodolfo Papa — an oil on canvas of the same dimensions as the mosaic medallion.
The painted sketch will be kept at the Fabric of St. Peter in the Vatican.
On April 21, the day Pope Francis died, the lighting in St. Paul's that had illuminated the portrait of the Argentine pontiff since 2013 was turned off.
When Leo's mosaic is installed, the craftsmen will also add the dates of the beginning and end of Francis' pontificate under his portrait.
Ancient tradition
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.
For this, in the heart of the Vatican, the basilica draws on the expertise of the members of an institution founded in the 16th century, the Mosaic Workshop.
