Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug 2, 2025 /
08:00 am
Just a few meters from Immaculate Conception Cathedral in the Argentine city of La Plata stands the world’s largest mural dedicated to Pope Francis, painted by renowned artist Martín Ron. This work represented a great technical challenge and aims to be a message of peace, of union “between earth and heaven,” and — why not? — a place of prayer and pilgrimage.
Ron’s career spans both time and space, with more than two decades of painting and works that beautify cities around the world. In his native Argentina, a soccer-loving land par excellence, two of his most talked-about murals are those depicting star players Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, just a sample of the hundreds that bear his signature.
On July 26, in the presence of city officials and the archbishop of La Plata, Gustavo Carrara, a 50-meter-high (164-foot) mural depicting Pope Francis, another of the “popular idols” Ron was tasked with painting, was inaugurated and blessed.
“As muralists, beyond painting our own works, we are constantly identifying those figures that have a strong popular following,” because muralism “is still pop art,” the artist told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
“Painting them in these dimensions and contributing to enhancing the collective memory of these figures, especially in places where art doesn’t reach, is very important,” he said.
In the case of Francis, “beyond the fact that he’s the pope, who is the most important person in Argentina, and his position in the Catholic Church, he still has the imprint of a pop idol — although the word ‘idol’ is, in this case, in quotation marks — because he has that reach, he’s still a healthy pop idol,” he noted, because there’s something about these idols “that has to do with how they become incarnated in the culture.”
The great challenge
Located at the intersection of 54th and 14th Streets, the mural of Pope Francis completes the already imposing landscape of La Plata Cathedral. Painting it there was a request from the La Plata City Council and represented a major technical challenge.
Although he had complete freedom to choose an image that represented the recently deceased Argentine pontiff, the limitations had to do with the “hardest aspect of the project, which is the dimensions, the format of the wall, and the angles from which it will be viewed.”
“In this case, the path was quite clear, because it’s right next to the cathedral, it overlooks the plaza, and it’s very central. But the only limitation I had, which is what can sometimes filter out the best photos, is the particular format of this building. While tall, it’s very narrow: 50 meters by 5 meters [164 feet by 16 feet].”
This detail meant that in that place” maybe the best photo, the one with the best story to tell, isn’t compositionally suitable for the location.” The first requirement, then, was “to create a composition that gains height and progresses vertically to interpret it from the bottom up, or from the top down.”
“It’s the pope. One can fall into the commonplace of saying: ‘Well, Pope Francis, any photo will do, as long as he looks good in the photo, is photogenic, and we all recognize him.’ But it has to have something more; it has to tell a story,” he stated.
Knowing that the work ‘will transcend’
The chosen image was a well-known one from the first months of Francis’ pontificate, where he can be seen smiling and looking up, holding a dove in his hand as it begins to spread its wings.
“It’s a very tender photo. I think it’s one of the best. It’s very well known, and it says a lot because it connects with heaven, through all the symbolism of the dove within the Catholic faith,” he noted.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Furthermore, technically, “it solved the issue of verticality for me, because it begins with the cassock, the cross of the Good Shepherd, then the neck appears, the portrait, and then there’s the arm that emerges from the frame and reenters, and above it, a crown with the dove and the sky, which merges with the real sky. That’s it. In slang, we say we ‘nailed’ it.”
“When you have all those variables, you already know that the work will transcend, it will be talked about, and it will become a new landmark of the city of La Plata,” he summarized.
Ron said he anticipates that the mural will become a landmark in the city, “because of the power of the image, because it’s about who he is, because it’s the first, because it’s in such a central location, in Plaza Moreno, next to the cathedral,” he stated, emphasizing that “when things like this happen, you’re helping to generate new landmarks. There’s something else to see and discover in La Plata.”
A believer but not a practicing Christian, Ron said he felt it was a positive thing that his work “be crowned with a blessing,” because he believes that “beyond who paints it, the important thing is how it reaches people.”
“I’m the channel, the person responsible for a work, but when I sign it, the work belongs to the people,” he explained. “All of us artists who paint murals let go of the work,” he said, especially when traveling around the world, because “the place takes ownership of it, the people take ownership of it, and the artist may never see it again,” he explained. Therefore, each work “is like a gift, an opening.”
In this case, “the fact that a lot of things start happening around us, related to this personage, is the best thing that can happen, not only for me but for the people.”
“That the work is blessed and that, in the future, this even might become a place of pilgrimage, that for some it is an opportunity to be closer to the figure of Pope Francis, going to La Plata, going to the cathedral, saying a prayer, asking him for something there, would be fabulous.”
Francis transmits the peace the world needs
On a personal level, Ron noted that Pope Francis transmits peace to him. “He is a popular figure who made a certain symbolic rupture, by stripping away absolutely everything material.”
“Beyond his more political legacy, he is a person whom you listen to, and he transmits peace, beyond what he says, even from the look on his face,” he commented.
Therefore, “I wanted to capture that image, which, beyond the dove, is an image that greatly represents peace, and we need it at this time in the world,” he said.
Big turnout for the dedication
The mural was inaugurated with a massive event attended by the mayor of La Plata, Julio Alak; representatives of the Catholic community; school representatives; members of political parties; and other institutions. In addition to artistic performances, the event included a blessing by the local archbishop, Gustavo Carrara.
“The city must be a place of encounter, of integration, where neighbors help each other walk together,” the prelate said, hoping “that the figure of Francis will inspire us in this city to work for a culture of encounter and inspire us on paths toward fraternity and social friendship.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Julieta Villar has a degree in social communication from the National University of La Matanza (Argentina). She began her professional career as an editor at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA). She has collaborated in graphic press media and communication tasks in civil society organizations. Since October 2022, she has been part of the ACI Prensa team as a correspondent for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Uruguay.
