Artist Michelle presents Pope Francis with one of her works

DUNDALK artist Michelle Rogers recently presented one of her paintings to Pope Francis during a Papal Audience in The Vatican.

The artist, who divides her time between Rome, New York and Ireland, attended the Papal Audience with her friend Patrick Gallagher earlier in the year.

‘We were invited to the meet and greet section,’ recalls Michelle. ‘Patrick told me about only a few days before hand so it was a wonderful surprise.’

‘AS an Environmental Artist I would say that Pope Francis would be a hero for me. His work on the Environment with his ‘Laudato Si’ Encyclical has been incredible,’ says Michele, who attended the launch of the Encyclical in The Vatican in 2015. ‘It has placed saving our environment as one of the main priorities of the Catholic Church.’

‘In fact when I was talking to the Pope for a few minutes, all the teenagers behind me were singing about Laudato Si which was so lovely.’

Having spoken with The Holy Father, Michelle says that ‘ the Pope is an incredibly warm person and seemed very happy and in great health.’

Michelle says she presented the Pope with painting she made in Dundalk over Christmas, at which point she had no idea that it would end up in The Vatican.

Later this year she will be exhibiting in the0 2017 Venice Biennale, a contemporary visual art exhibition held every other year in the Italian city.

However, in the meantime, she is holding a mid career retrospective, entitled ‘ Thread Lightling in Rathfarnham Castle in Dublin, opening on June 16.

The exhibition is organized by OPW and The Paul Kane Gallery and runs till August 18.