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Pope Leo XIV's Visit Spurs Full Covering of Rupnik Mosaics
Confirmed
In Short: In preparation for Pope Leo XIV's visit, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas ordered the complete covering of Father Marko Rupnik's mosaics at Lourdes.
In preparation for Pope Leo XIV's visit to Lourdes, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes ordered the complete covering of Father Marko Rupnik's mosaics, which were partially covered earlier this year.
The mosaics, created by Father Rupnik, who is currently facing a canonical trial for alleged spiritual and sexual abuse, could be a source of distress for survivors of clerical abuse.
Bishop Micas explained, 'This is my mission here,' noting that he did not want the mosaics to be a roadblock for people who wanted to visit Lourdes.
In June, Sister Samuelle, a French mosaicist and one of Father Rupnik’s alleged victims, visited Lourdes, witnessing the partially covered mosaics.
Sister Samuelle said, 'Sometimes you take a spontaneous photo which says so much more than a thousand safeguarding reports,' referring to a photo of her facing the massive mosaics on the wall of the basilica.
The decision to cover the mosaics was made after the bishop received and listened to some people who were victims of sexual abuses, understanding that it was 'just horrible' and 'a scandal' that victims could feel deterred from visiting the grounds due to the display of an alleged abuser’s mosaics.
The mosaics will remain covered after the event, and the search for a permanent solution will continue in consultation with the bishop and the committee that has been in place since 2024.
Father Rupnik’s mosaics were commissioned in 2008, 14 years before accusations against the priest-artist were made public.
The mosaics were installed on the century-old basilica to mark the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady.
Pope Leo XIV, upon his election, reportedly ordered the dicastery to remove Rupnik’s artwork from its website shortly after his election as pope.
The decision to cover the mosaics in Lourdes contrasts with the approach taken in Brazil, where Rupnik’s artwork remains on display despite similar allegations.
Guilherme Dudus, an attorney who co-founded Scars of Faith, called Lourdes' approach an 'important first step' toward making the shrine welcoming to abuse victims, but he said the mosaics should ultimately be removed in both France and Brazil.
What this adds
The decision to cover the mosaics was made after a consultation that included listening to accusers of clerical sexual abuse, legal professionals, safeguarding experts, and local chaplains.
The Vatican has not disclosed the exact charges against Father Rupnik beyond 'canonical violations,' and the judges hearing the case are a mix of women and clergymen, none of whom hold positions within the Roman Curia.
Background
In preparation for Pope Leo XIV's visit, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas ordered the complete covering of Father Marko Rupnik's mosaics at Lourdes.
In preparation for Pope Leo XIV's visit to Lourdes, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas ordered the complete covering of Father Marko Rupnik's mosaics, which were partially covered earlier this year.
What's confirmed
- Amid the ongoing canonical trial of Father Rupnik, the famed priest-mosaicist accused by over 20 women of spiritual and sexual abuse, in March 2025 Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes ordered to cover part of the large-scale mosaic artwork created by the former Jesuit.
- “Lourdes is considered as a very important place by victims of sexual abuse … because with the Immaculate Conception, they can find consolation and maybe some cure,” he said.
- Knowing that victims of clerical sexual abuse come to Lourdes searching for healing and recalling a recent visit to the sanctuary by Sister Samuelle, a French mosaicist and one of Father Rupnik’s alleged victims, Bishop Micas said that “after having received and listened to some people being victims of sexual abuses,” he understood “it’s just horrible” and “it’s a scandal” that victims could feel deterred from visiting the grounds due to the display of an alleged abuser’s mosaics.
- In covering part of the mosaics at that point, the bishop sought to alleviate that concern for some pilgrims, he explained.
- “This is my mission here,” he said, noting that did not want the mosaics to be a roadblock for people who wanted to visit Lourdes.
- In June, Sobocki was accompanying Sister Samuelle in her visit to Lourdes and witnessed a moment of the alleged victim of Father Rupnik facing the then-partially covered mosaics.
- “Sometimes you take a spontaneous photo which says so much more than a thousand safeguarding reports,” she said of the photo of Sister Samuelle facing massive mosaics on the wall of the basilica.
- (OSV News) — Prior to Pope Leo XIV’s arrival to Lourdes Sept.
- 26, the sanctuary covered the mosaics of Father Marko Rupnik, the spokesman of the sanctuary confirmed to OSV News, sharing pictures of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary with mosaics entirely covered.
- They “will remain covered after the event,” David Torchala shared in the message sent to OSV News.
- “This measure is intended to be a long-term solution and not merely a temporary decoration” for the papal visit, he said, adding that “the search for a permanent solution will continue in consultation with the bishop and the committee that has been in place since 2024.” Pope Leo will arrive in Lourdes in the evening of Sept.
- Father Rupnik’s mosaics were — until fully covered Sept.
What's still developing
- Pilgrims arrive at the Cathedral Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida, Brazil's patron saint, in the city of Aparecida, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Oct.12, 2024. (OSV News/Reuters/Carla Carniel, Reuters) The two cases highlight the contrast in how local churches are dealing with Rupnik's artistic legacy following revelations of his abuse, particularly after Leo's own position on the Rupnik case has begun to emerge.
- "When an institution must choose between preserving an image and protecting the dignity of those who have been harmed, [abuse] survivors must be at the center of that decision," Valdea Caratchuk, organizer of the Survivor's Network of Ecclesiastical Abuse in Brazil, told National Catholic Reporter about the Aparecida mosaics.
- Though the shrine's original 2019 announcement of the project said that Rupnik would execute the project, its current webpage attributes the work to 39 mosaic artists "linked to the Aletti Center in Rome, Italy," which he founded.
- People light candles in celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Aparecida at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in São Paulo Oct. 12, 2021. (OSV News/Reuters/Carla Carniel) Caratchuk, who says she was abused, said that not all accusers are asking that the mosaics be removed, but rather that the full story behind them, including their controversy, be acknowledged and shared.
- "The victims who are pushing back against the installation of the mosaics at Aparecida do not want to erase history, on the contrary, they want it to be told in its entirety," she told NCR.
- Learn more Vatican City — September 10, 2026 Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email to a friend Print At one of Catholicism's most iconic places of worship, Pope Leo XIV will be met with plainly decorated aluminum panels hiding a sinister secret: scores of artwork designed by a disgraced priest accused of abusing more than two dozen women, mostly religious sisters.
- Marko Rupnik, the once-celebrated Jesuit priest whose artwork adorns Catholic churches, cathedrals, seminaries and shrines the world over, has loomed over Leo's coming visit to Lourdes Sept.
- 26-27, where his mosaics decorate the facade of the basilica at the sanctuary's center.
- Allegations of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse committed by Rupnik went public in 2022 and set off a churchwide reckoning over what to do with his artwork, which decorates churches from the world's farthest-flung corners to inside the Vatican.
- But two weeks before Leo's France visit and an ocean away, the largest installation of Rupnik's art will be inaugurated on the western facade of the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida in southern Brazil, the world's second largest Catholic church after St.
- They portray the luminous mysteries of the rosary that St.
- Pope Leo, he said, “immediately asked me how Lourdes was handling this issue” and expressed his support for “the way we have approached things,” following Lourdes’ covering of the priest’s mosaics at the entrance of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.