Puri, April 21 -- Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created a sand sculpture of Pope Francis as a tribute at Puri beach in Odisha on Monday.
Pattnaik crafted an 8-foot-high sand sculpture of Pope Francis with the message, "Rest in Peace, Pope Francis."
He used about 7 tonnes of sand for the sculpture. Students from his sand art institute joined hands with him to complete the tribute.
Pope Francis served as the head of the Catholic Church and the sovereign of Vatican City from March 13, 2013, until his death in 2025. He was the first Pope from the Society of Jesus.
"We pay our tribute to Pope Francis through our sand sculpture," said Pattnaik.
Sudarsan had also previously created a sand sculpture of the Pope when he was unwell....