Super Pope street artist gets new stamp of Vatican approval

Graffiti depicting Pope Francis cleaning the sky from pollution (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Street artist Maupal, whose cartoon-like depictions of Pope Francis as a “Super Pope” have graced buildings around the Vatican for a decade, received 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 Lent message, which this year emphasises the need for the faithful to let go of hopelessness and bondage to find a path of inner freedom.