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Icon Painter Gifts Edward the Confessor to Pope Leo

10/25/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Aidan Hart, an icon painter from Shrewsbury, created an icon of Edward the Confessor as a gift for Pope Leo.
The icon was presented after King Charles III and Pope Leo prayed together in the Sistine Chapel, a first since the Reformation.
Hart described the process as "praying with colour" and said the icon took 80 to 100 hours with natural pigments, reflecting on their collaborative commissions.

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Story summary

Aidan Hart, an icon painter from Shrewsbury, created an icon of Edward the Confessor as a gift for Pope Leo.
The icon was presented after King Charles III and Pope Leo prayed together in the Sistine Chapel, a first since the Reformation.
Hart described the process as "praying with colour" and said the icon took 80 to 100 hours with natural pigments, reflecting on their collaborative commissions.