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Italian artist Mauro Pallotta has prepared seven cartoon-like drawings to illustrate the themes of Pope Francis’ message this year.
Vatican City – When Italian artist Mauro Pallotta secretly pasted a mural depicting Pope Francis as a caped superhero on a wall near the Vatican 10 years ago, Roman police arrested him within hours. It was removed.
Now the Vatican has given Pallotta, who signed his work “Maupal,” its seal of approval, allowing him to illustrate Francis’ message for this year’s Lent.
On Thursday, February 1, Pallotta sat alongside the cardinal at a press conference and celebrated his transformation from secretly nocturnal street artist to one who is now basking in the blessings of the No. 1 man in the Holy See.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Pallotta, 51, said.
This year’s Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 14th, and ends on Easter Sunday, March 31st. During this period, Catholics are asked to fast, remember the poor, and reflect on mortality.
Pallotta prepared seven cartoon-like drawings to illustrate the themes of Francis’ message this year.
The first photo released on Thursday shows the pope pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with burlap bags with the word “Faith” written on them.
Pope pushes this work through a desert of nails that threaten to puncture wheels, which the artist says represents the faith that guides people out of a desert of injustice, conflict, and material and spiritual entrapment. Told.
“Humanity has reached the threshold of universal fraternity and reached a level of scientific, technological, cultural and legal development that can guarantee the dignity of every person, but it remains in the darkness of inequality and conflict. ,” Francisco said in his message.
Pallotta’s illustrations will be published weekly during Lent on the website and social media platforms of the Vatican Bishopric for the Promotion of Holistic Human Development. – Rappler.com