"This is the second chair created by Antarte for a Pope, after having produced the chair for Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, for the visit of the supreme pontiff to Porto, on May 14 of that year", reads a press release.

The brand was invited to create the piece by the president of East Timor himself, José Ramos-Horta, during a visit to Portugal in April.

"The invitation from the President of the Republic of Timor-Leste, Dr. José Ramos-Horta, to produce Pope Francis' armchair for the first official visit of a Pope to that country was irresistible. A brand that is only 25 years old must be extremely proud to have created personalised pieces for two Popes in just over a decade," said Mário Rocha, founder, and CEO of Antarte.


Antarte wanted to create "a piece that expressed the institutional nobility of the Pope and respected the Vatican's guidelines" and combined "the mastery of artisanal production with cutting-edge technologies".

Natural fibers, such as cotton and linen, were used for the fabrics used to upholster the armchair. The "insignia with the Vatican coat of arms placed on the top of the back of the armchair was made using state-of-the-art 3D printing to obtain high definition in every detail of the coat of arms".

The creation involved "a team of 14 professionals with different skills and more than 180 hours of work".