Even if you don't have a chance to see Pope Leo at St. Peter's, there will soon be the opportunity to see him during opening hours of any day at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The new mosaic of our current Pope is over 4 feet in diameter and made up of around 15,000 pieces:
How many pieces are there?
15,000 pieces.
On the face, these are the ancient pieces we have, only on the face.
Those ancient ones?
Yes, the ancient ones are from the 1800s.
Because we have an archive with all the pieces, and they are countless: about 20,000, 30,000…
If you visit St. Paul Outside the Walls, you'll notice that this mosaic is part of a long tradition: there is a mosaic for each of the 266 other popes, including the first, St. Peter.
This papal tradition began during the papacy of Leo I, in the middle of the 5th Century, but many of the mosaics were destroyed in a fire on July 15, 1823. Pope Leo XII initiated the restoration of all of them and renewed the tradition.
During the reveal of his mosaic, Pope Leo also received a medal marking the closing of the Holy Door at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and he blessed all those present. When the mosaic is installed, the dates of Pope Francis' papacy will also be added under his preceding mosaic.
BAM
