Super-Pope Francis T-Shirts

The image of the Holy Father as a superhero went viral before being quickly scrubbed off by the Vatican cleaning services. The Pontifical Council for the Media did, however, relay it on Twitter; and its author, the Italian street artist Mauro Pallotta, known as MauPal, offered a copy to Pope Francis after a Wednesday audience.

“With the economic and social crisis that hit Italy and the world, I saw Francis as a symbol of hope for all, and that is why I decided in 2014 to draw a picture of the pope as a superhero and put it on a wall near the Vatican,” Maupal told AFP on October 13, 2017.

“I graphically summed up a widely-shared opinion of the pope as someone with a lot of power who is also humane and humble at the same time,” added the forty-year-old artist.”

What began as an affectionate caricature has in October of 2017 become one of the official emblems of the “Pope’s Charity.” The graffiti will be printed on T-shirts and sold and the profits will go to the sovereign pontiff’s charity works. The shirt will be available in several sizes for ladies, men, and children for 19€. The front represents Pope Francis flying through the air, fist first, with his briefcase full of “values” in his other hand. The back has a few of his quotes. The exact amount of the royalties the Holy See will receive is unknown.