This project coincides with Cattelan's recent artistic engagements with the Vatican and the Venice Biennale. He created a limited edition of miniatures of his 1999 sculpture La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour) to mark the 21st anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death this month, and he was commissioned by the Holy See in 2024 to create an artwork for its Venice Biennale offering. For that exhibition, Cattelan painted a giant mural of soles on the exterior wall of the women's prison where the Vatican's art exhibition was housed. According to The Guardian - Main UK, Maurizio Cattelan described Catholicism as something pervasive, involving belief, theatre, control, and comfort, and noted that Pope Francis visiting his work was significant. The public or critical reaction to Cattelan's Venice Biennale mural has not been widely reported, and it is unclear if the Vatican has issued any official statement regarding his confession hotline or past controversial works.
The miniatures of Cattelan's pope sculpture are 30cm long and 12.5cm high, made of hand-painted resin. How many miniatures were produced in the limited edition has not been disclosed. According to The Guardian - Main UK, Maurizio Cattelan described the confession hotline not as religious absolution but as a shared gesture, emphasizing that confession exists in various forms beyond religion. The number of callers who have used the hotline since its launch is unknown, and the specific criteria Cattelan will use to select participants for the April 23 livestream have not been revealed.
I don't see it as absolution. It's not religious authority, it's a shared gesture. Confession exists in different forms everywhere – even outside religion.
Catholicism is something you grow up inside, even if you try to step out of it. It's belief, theatre, control, comfort – all at once. I'm not trying to defend it or attack it. I'm interested in the images it produces and the tension they carry. If someone feels offended, it probably means the image is still alive.
The fact that Pope Francis came to see the work … is more than a comment.
We're trying to make art more accessible both in terms of collecting art, and involving a wider public.