The face of a cherub resembling Meloni in a Roman basilica was covered up

A mural in the Roman Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina caused an unexpected stir after the public noticed an angel with the face of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The work, originally created in 2000 and recently restored, was modified by amateur artist Bruno Valentinetti so that one of the angels bore a striking resemblance to the current head of government.

After the incident was reported in the daily newspaper La Repubblica, a wave of criticism followed from both the opposition and church officials. Cardinal Baldassare Reina described the incident as an abuse of sacred art and ordered an investigation.

The parish priest, Daniele Micheletti, subsequently decided to remove the controversial element on the grounds that the image distracted worshippers from the service. When the church reopened on Wednesday, the angel was headless.

Meloni took the whole incident with humor. "No, I definitely don't look like an angel," she wrote in a social media post over the weekend, adding a laughing emoji.

(reuters, pir)