Now you see her, now you don’t.

Following restoration efforts at the Chapel of the Holy Souls of Purgatory within the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina, central Rome, an angel was found to unexpectedly bear the likeness of Meloni.

Although the restoration was completed late last year, it became a topic of discussion over the weekend. Social media buzzed with before-and-after images revealing that the angel’s original face had been swapped with one resembling the prime minister.

Initially, Bruno Valentinetti, the volunteer responsible for the restoration, dismissed these claims, asserting that he had adhered to original drawings.

However, Valentinetti was instructed to obscure his work, resulting in a ghostly white mark on the angel.

“I covered it up because the Vatican instructed me to,” he explained to La Repubblica.

The Vatican has not weighed in publicly on the controversy.

The culture ministry, which ordered an investigation earlier this week, put out a statement on Wednesday about the removal of the image, saying that works in churches in Rome had to be pre-approved with drawings for proposed changes.

“In light of the removal of the face from the decoration in the chapel of the crucifix of San Lorenzo in Lucina, in agreement with the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, the Special Superintendent of Rome, Daniela Porro, has informed the rector of the Basilica that any restoration work requires a request for authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior’s Fund for Places of Worship, which owns the property, the Vicariate, and the Special Superintendency of Rome, attaching a sketch of the image,” the ministry wrote in a statement posted on its website.

Hundreds of visitors have visited the chapel in recent days to take photos of the image, the parish priest Father Daniele Micheletti said.

“I’ve always said that if it had created divisions, I would have had it removed,” he told Sky Italia.

“From a regulatory standpoint, the painting could have remained there for a hundred years, but it has created too many divisions in the church.”

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.