Camilla Jessen
Pope Leo’s mosaic portrait ready for Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
The Vatican Mosaic Studio has completed the official mosaic portrait of Pope Leo XIV, according to the Holy See Press Office. The work follows a long-standing custom observed after the election of every pope.
The mosaic was finished just over eight months after Pope Leo XIV’s election. It was commissioned at the request of Cardinal James Michael Harvey, Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
As tradition dictates, the completed portrait was presented to the Pope before his Wednesday General Audience at the Vatican.
Crafted in the Vatican
The mosaic medallion measures 137 centimeters in diameter and was produced by the Vatican Mosaic Studio of the Fabric of Saint Peter. It was created using glass enamels and gold mounted on a metal structure.
Each tessera was cut using the ancient mosaic technique and set with an oil-based mastic unique to Vatican tradition. The studio relied on methods that have been preserved and passed down for centuries.
The mosaic was based on a preparatory oil painting by Master Rodolfo Papa. The painted sketch, created at the same scale as the mosaic, was specifically designed to be translated into tessellated form.
Permanent placement
The finished mosaic will be installed in the right nave of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. It will hang approximately 13 meters above the floor, beside the portrait of Pope Francis.
The basilica houses a long visual sequence of papal portraits, making the new addition part of an unbroken historical series.
The original painted sketch will not be displayed in the basilica. Instead, it will be preserved at the Fabric of Saint Peter in the Vatican, alongside the full collection of papal portrait studies.
Sources: Holy See Press Office, Vatican News
