Series description
Between the death of one pope and the election of the next, crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, for an event that functions simultaneously as sacred ritual and global spectacle. The photographers explain that pilgrimage took on the traits of fandom, as rosaries, flags and prayer gestures were performed with full awareness of the attendant cameras and media. Individual devotion unfolded ‘within a choreography shaped by mass attendance and global broadcast.’ The portraits in this series capture that ‘doubled consciousness’: believers performing acts of faith within a mediated public space, where personal conviction merges with stadium-scale performance.
Biography
Caimi and Piccinni are a photographic duo whose documentary projects focus on how people navigate socio-political and environmental change, with particular attention to processes of transformation and identity. Their work has been widely published and recognised with major awards.
The first day of the papal conclave was 7 May 2025. An estimated 45,000 people gathered to witness the selection of Pope Francis’s successor. Prayers were synchronised with the voting schedule inside the Sistine Chapel.
© Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy, Finalist, Professional Competition, Portraiture, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
The evening of 7 May 2025, as the gathered crowd awaited the result of the first conclave ballot. Black smoke later signalled that the cardinals had not yet elected a new pope. The crowd remained, recalibrating devotion to the rhythm of failed attempts.
© Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy, Finalist, Professional Competition, Portraiture, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Tiffany Jones, from Texas, USA, photographed in St. Peter’s Square, shortly after the announcement of the death of Pope Francis. She says ‘our tour guide told us the pope had died. I felt deeply sad. I knew he was very ill, but still, it's a loss. I appreciated how much he did for people. He truly stood for us, the ordinary people.’
© Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy, Finalist, Professional Competition, Portraiture, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
A Protestant minister holds an American flag during the first day of papal conclave voting. Protestant denominations ordain women as clergy who administer sacraments and lead congregations. Her presence marks ecumenical interest in papal succession, yet she is an ordained female minister observing an institution that forbids women's ordination.
© Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy, Finalist, Professional Competition, Portraiture, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
An Alpini battalion soldier prepares to parade in St. Peter's Square following the election of the new pope. The Vatican functions as both a spiritual center and sovereign territory, as state ceremony merges with religious ritual.
© Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy, Finalist, Professional Competition, Portraiture, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
A priest distributes communion during Pope Francis’s funeral mass. Some 4,000 priests concelebrated the mass for approximately 200,000 mourners. Ritual persisted through the institutional transition, with the Eucharist administered regardless of papal presence.
© Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy, Finalist, Professional Competition, Portraiture, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Pilgrims photograph the crowd's jubilation after white smoke signals the successful papal election. This devotional moment was captured for transmission, the event experienced simultaneously as sacred occurrence and media content to be shared.
© Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy, Finalist, Professional Competition, Portraiture, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
A Southeast Asian pilgrim kisses his rosary while awaiting news from the conclave. Pope Francis travelled extensively throughout Asia during his papacy, drawing an estimated 6 to 7 million people to an open-air Mass in Manila in 2015. His funeral and succession brought that global reach back to Rome.
© Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy, Finalist, Professional Competition, Portraiture, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards