The Roman diocese led by Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV has ordered a church in Rome to fix a fresco of an angel that has been updated to bear a suspicious resemblance to one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Europe.
An Italian newspaper at the weekend noticed that a fresco that has just been restored in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina in the center of Rome suddenly showed an angel whose face was very similar to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right party Brothers of Italy.
The artist, Bruno Valentinetti, denied modeling the angel after the prime minister, but the Roman diocese expressed its “disappointment” and promised to investigate. On Monday, technicians from the diocese told the parish priest that the painting had to be changed to remove Meloni’s likeness, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported.
As Pope, the 70-year-old Leo is also Bishop of Rome.
Originally, the parish priest of the San Lorenzo Basilica, Daniele Micheletti, had defended the fresco, saying that he did not think there was anything wrong with Valentinetti painting the likeness of the premier on an angel in a chapel dedicated to “holy souls”.
“It doesn’t mean we are supporters of Meloni,” he told La Repubblica on Saturday. “Maybe we are supporters of Meloni, but we don’t say so. The face of King Umberto II is also there, does that mean we are monarchists?”
The controversial angel was originally painted in 2000 in a historic basilica in Rome and restored by the original artist last year. / Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP via Getty Images
A fresco of an angel in the likeness of Giorgia Meloni has caused an uproar in Italy. / Marco Iacobucci and Simona Granati via Getty Images
But the cardinal vicar of the Roman diocese, the close ally of Leo Baldassare Reina, responded to the news with a “firm” statement that “images of sacred art and the Christian tradition can be misused or exploited, since they are intended exclusively to sustain liturgical life.”
After speaking to the diocese, Micheletti said that the fresco will be modified. Archivists are looking for documentation of the original version of the fresco, which Valentinetti himself painted in 2000 within the historic basilica, which dates back to the 13th century.
Pope Leo has been an outspoken critic of many of Trump’s policies, including the President’s immigration tactics and threats to invade foreign countries.
Giorgia Meloni was one of President Trump’s closest allies in Europe. / Evan Vucci/Pool/Getty Images
He shared some of those disagreements with the administration directly during a May sit-down with Vice President JD Vance, making a point to distance himself from his older brother’s pro-MAGA politics.
In November, a White House spokesman fired Leo for saying that detained migrants should be allowed to receive communion.