Pope Francis is increasingly sighted aloft with cape and briefcase – in graffiti at least. The celestial soaring is part of an informal social media campaign supporting the spiritual leader and his ideas.

Italian artist Mauro Pallotta surprised Vatican visitors with images of the pontiff as a manly, airborne superhero last January hovering at low altitude just outside the walls of the Vatican. Pallotto, a.k.a. “MauPal,” claims his inspiration came while simultaneously listening to the pope and reading a Superman comic. ...