CHICAGO — A birthday gift for Pope Leo has a place of honor in the Chicago high school he once visited.

Art from Italy arrived at Chicago’s Providence Catholic High School a few weeks ago. But before the package arrived in art teacher Denise Zlogar’s classroom, it arrived in the WGN mailroom from Rome. The contents packaged up not long after the world met Pope Leo, then it found a home where the Chicago-born pontiff has long been known as Bob Prevost.

WGN first met the Roman street artist Mauro Pallotta in 2014.

His work has honored the canonization of Pope John Paul II and John XXIII. But it was another painting that put Pallotta on the map. He mounted the piece called Super Pope on a building near the Vatican. The image went viral, even Pope Francis was a fan.

Pallotta’s muse inspire

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