The sculpture depicts Pope Paul VI, to whom Bodini had dedicated the famous version in pine wood two years earlier, now preserved in the Vatican Museums in Rome in the contemporary artists section. Paul VI is known for being the "pope of artists", especially in difficult years, around 1968 with conflicting and delicate relations between the Church and the political and social world.

The figure of Pope Montini was able to intrigue the sculptor to the point that he dedicated several monumental works to him. The relationship was one of esteem and familiarity also thanks to the common friendship with Mons. Pasquale Macchi. In this bronze Bodini depicts the pontiff with a rapid characterization in the physiognomy of the face (less intense than the wooden version) and with his hands reaching out beyond the rigid papal habit, in a gesture that can suggest welcome, closeness and blessing.