Pope orders angel's face scrubbed from church fresco after spotting Trump ally

The Roman diocese, led by Pope Leo XIV, has ordered a church to alter an angel's face painted on a fresco that bears a close resemblance to one of President Donald Trump's closest European allies.

An Italian newspaper reported over the weekend that a newly restored fresco at Rome's Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina included an angel whose updated face appeared to resemble Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, although artist Bruno Valentinetti denied that was his intention and the parish priest defended the work, reported The Daily Beast.

“It doesn’t mean we’re Meloni supporters,” parish priest Daniele Micheletti told La Repubblica on Saturday. “Maybe we are Meloni supporters, but we don’t say so. The face of King Umberto II is also there, does that mean we’re monarchists?”

Technicians from the Roman diocese, which is headed by the America-born pope, told the priest the painting needed to be altered to remove Meloni's likeness, and Cardinal Vicar Baldassare Reina, a close ally of Leo's, issued a "firm" statement.

“Images of sacred art and the Christian tradition can be misused or exploited, as they are intended exclusively to support liturgical life," the cardinal vicar said.

Micheletti agreed to have the 13th-century basilica's fresco, which Valentinetti himself had originally painted in 2000, modified after speaking to diocese officials.

Pope Leo has spoken out against Trump's immigration policies and expansionist threats and shared some of those disagreements directly with Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult, during a face-to-face meeting in May.