The International Competition, launched by the Fabbrica di San Pietro last December, has concluded. The competition aimed to create a unique artistic representation in painting—a Via Crucis in fourteen stations—intended for temporary exhibitions in the Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican.

The initiative received general approval, with over a thousand applications submitted by artists of all ages from eighty countries worldwide. Female participation was significant, nearly 45% of the applicants were, in fact, women.

Numerous Italian artists participated in the competition, but substantial numbers of applicants also came from Eastern European countries (notably Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine), the United States, and the Philippines.

A rigorous evaluation of the candidates’ photographic portfolios and CVs was carried out by a Commission of experts, including art historians, liturgists, and representatives of various Vatican institutions.

A shortlist of fourteen candidates was selected. According to the competition’s guidelines they had to submit a painted sketch of the twelfth station of the Via Crucis (Jesus dies on the cross) and a graphic sketch of another station, freely chosen by the artist.

The works of the thirteen finalists were submitted by the deadline to the Fabbrica:

Tadeusz Boruta (Poland)

Amedeo Brogli (Italy)

Marco Chiuchiarelli (Italy)

Tule Clow (United States)

Antoni Cygan (Poland)

Giuseppe De Palma (Italy)

Antonio Decinti Torrejón (Chile)

Paweł Domaszewicz (Poland)

Manuel Andreas Dürr (Switzerland)

Emanuel Farrugia (Malta)

Janusz Szpyt (Poland)

Giovanni Maria Tommasi Ferroni (Italy)

Carlos Ygoa (Philippines)

The sketches were presented to the Commission in a specially prepared room within the Fabbrica’s offices, forming an exhibition of strong visual and emotional impact.

The Competition Commission highly praised the sketches for their technical quality, originality, and expressive power. Due to the striking impression created by the collective display of these works—where the single subject, the crucified Christ, was represented in diverse forms reflecting the artists’ personal styles—the Fabbrica requested each artist’s permission to retain their sketches for a unified exhibition.

The Competition Commission unanimously declared the Swiss painter Manuel Andreas Dürr as the winner.

The artist has already met with the President of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, His Eminence Mauro Card. Gambetti and a select technical commission with whom he will collaborate to complete the work. The Via Crucis will be delivered in time for its first exhibition during Lent 2026, the year marking the fourth centenary of the Vatican Basilica’s consecration.