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Pope Francis Loved This Portrait Drawn By Belmont 'L' Station Artist

By Ariel Cheung | September 29, 2015 6:13am

LAKEVIEW — Sure, anyone can get a blessing from the pope — but how about a chuckle?

That's what happened when Pope Francis saw a rendition of himself created by a Lakeview artist in honor of his visit to the United States last week.

Pope Francis laughs along with Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich [l.] and Father Jack Wall [r.] after seeing Flat Francis, drawn by Lakeview artist David Lee Csicsko. [Provided/Rich Kalonick for Catholic Extension]

Artist David Lee Csicsko, 58, said he had no idea his drawing would end up in the pope's hands, but he was thrilled it did.

"It really brightened my day in a giant way. This certainly is just like one of those special things that comes your way. I was just happy he got a big kick out of it," Csicsko told DNAinfo on Monday.

The pope was definitely amused, and his reaction was even caught on video:

In March, Csicsko signed on to design a Flat Francis, a play on the popular children's book "Flat Stanley" and its classroom project.

Catholic Extension launched the Flat Francis project in April as a way to show the pope the face of American Catholicism. More than 5,000 photos with Flat Francis were shared over the summer, the Chicago-based organization said.

Ariel Cheung says you might recognize Csicsko's work around town:

The pope finally saw the flattened version of himself in September, when the Catholic Extension Board of Governors traveled to Rome. Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich brought Flat Francis with him during an audience with the pope.

Lakeview artist David Lee Csicsko designed Flat Francis in honor of the pope's visit to the United States last week. [Provided/Catholic Extension]

During the pope's visit last week, Csicsko said he kept an eye on the crowd to see if his Flat Francis would pop up, but had no idea the pope himself saw it until someone from Catholic Extension shared the photo with him.

Csicsko's work is probably familiar to Lakeviewers who have hopped on the "L" at the Belmont station. His mosaic design was chosen through an art competition in 2009, and he's also done work for Ann Sather restaurants.

Flat Francis wasn't Csicsko's first brush with fame, either. In 2012, his stained-glass medallions and 10-foot wooden trees decorated the White House for Christmas.

He also drew a portrait of the Obama family and later received a handwritten letter from President Barack Obama thanking him for the designs.

Lakeview artist David Lee Csicsko has drawn portraits of the Obama family and Pope Francis in addition to 30 years of work with stained glass and mosaics. [Provided/David Lee Csicsko]

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