People's Artist of Russia Nikas Safronov met with Pope Francis in the Vatican

Just recently People's Artist of Russia Nikas Safronov has met with Pope Francis in the Vatican.
The Pope blessed the artist to create a unique collection of paintings for the Vatican with further exhibitions in European countries.

The Pontiff has always emphasised the culture, and considers the promotion of cultural values as one of the important elements of increasing universal spirituality.
Nikas Safronov is one of the significant figures of contemporary Russian art. Being known all over the world, among other things for portraits of heads of state and celebrities, the painter personally presented the Pope with his portrait as a gift. However, the Pontiff's special attention was captured by the painting depicting the first place of Francis' ministry - the Basilica of San José de Flores in Buenos Aires. It is noteworthy that this artwork by Safronov stayed on the International Space Station from March to the end of September 2022, was in outer space and together with the crew rotated more than 3,000 times around the Earth. Now Safronov's painting has taken a special place in the collection of the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The personal audience with the artist took place in warm atmosphere in the House of St. Martha, the residence of the Pope in the Vatican.
This is not the artist's first meeting with the pontiff - in the early 2000s, the artist met with Pope John Paul II.