A new public mural near the Vatican last week has drawn local and global attention for its satirical aim at the conservative world leaders who attended Pope Francis’s funeral service this past weekend.
Created by anonymous Italian street artist Laika MCMLIV, the work titled “The Guests” (2025) depicts the late pontiff in a perplexed state as he reads over a list of attendees featuring the names of several right-wing figures: United States President Donald Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and Italian politicians Matteo Salvini and Matteo Piantedosi.
“But who invited them?” Pope Francis asks from heaven, as portrayed by a luminous halo floating above his head.
Known as “the People’s Pope” for his commitment to humility, inclusivity, and progressive advocacy on issues spanning human rights, environmentalism, and immigration, the pontiff publicly clashed with many conservative international politicians during his lifetime. This criticism was directed at Trump and his administrations in recent years for their support of xenophobic policies such as a controversial US-Mexico border wall and the mass deportation of migrants and asylum seekers.
Pope Francis also had tense relations with Milei, the far-right president of his home country, who called the Catholic leader “the representation of evil on Earth” before taking office. While the two had a cordial meeting at the Vatican in 2024, Francis notably never returned to Argentina, despite visiting four of its five bordering countries.
Characterizing the pope’s funeral attendees as a “parade of hypocrisy” in an Instagram post, Laika further scrutinized von der Leyen’s support for European rearmament and migrant deportations. The anonymous street artist also rebuked Salvini and Piantedos for their support of anti-immigration measures, such as the controversial Cutro decree. Notably, Francis chose to be buried in an undecorated tomb in Esquilino, a less affluent neighborhood in Rome known for its high population of immigrants.
“I think that Francesco, if he could, would have gladly crossed those names off his ‘guest list,’” the artist wrote.