(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 09.09.2025).- A corner of the Vatican Gardens has been transformed into a small piece of Argentina. On September 9, a luminous mosaic of Our Lady of Luján—the beloved patroness of the South American nation—was unveiled and blessed in a ceremony that combined art, diplomacy, and devotion.
The mosaic, created by Argentine artist Florencia Delucchi, portrays the Virgin with what she called “beauty and tenderness,” and now joins the line of Latin American Marian images in the area known as the Bastione del Maestro. Its installation crowns a long effort supported by benefactors, clergy, and the encouragement of Pope Francis, who urged that Argentina’s most cherished Marian devotion be represented alongside the other patrons of the continent.
The event drew together senior Vatican figures and Argentine representatives. Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice-dean of the College of Cardinals, led the blessing and prayers, while Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin offered words that underscored the symbolism of the moment: “This gesture expresses the bonds of friendship and concord that unite Argentina with the Holy See.” Parolin also highlighted the artistic language of the mosaic: a sky rendered in blue and light-blue tesserae recalling eternity, surrounded by a floral ceramic frame that speaks of beauty and new life.
Argentine ambassador to the Holy See, Luis Pablo María Beltranino, spoke with visible emotion. Calling the Virgin “the spiritual heart of our nation,” he described her as a sign of unity and hope since 1630. He asked that she accompany not only the Argentine people in their trials, but also the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, inspiring “paths of peace, fraternity, dialogue, and justice.”
Cardinal Fernando Vérgez, former president of Vatican City State, added a note of gratitude. He emphasized that placing the image in the Vatican Gardens was “not simply an artistic act, but a living testimony of a community that treasures its roots, its culture, and its faith.” He recalled both Pope Francis’s encouragement and the figure of Blessed Cardinal Eduardo Pironio, long associated with the shrine of Luján, linking the present gesture with Argentina’s Catholic memory.
The ceremony was more than institutional. It resonated personally for Delucchi, the artist who worked against the clock to complete the mosaic between February and April, guided, she said, by a sense of providence. “Working on the image of the Virgin was a profound gift for my soul and spirit. Art, as Pope Francis reminds us, frees and enlarges the heart. This work has left me with an indescribable joy.”
The image she created was inspired by a household devotional statue belonging to one of the donors. Delucchi combined traditional mosaic techniques with hand-painted ceramic pieces, allowing color and texture to express both delicacy and strength
For the Argentine community in Rome, and for pilgrims who will encounter the Virgin of Luján among the gardens of the Vatican, the entronement stands as a gesture of gratitude for Mary’s maternal protection throughout history and as a sign of communion with the universal Church.
As the prayers concluded with a hymn to the Virgin, many present spoke of the moment as both a national affirmation and a reminder that faith travels across borders. A fragment of Argentina now rests in the Vatican Gardens—where the Virgin of Luján looks out, as she has for nearly four centuries, as a mother who accompanies her people on their way.
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