Mosaics by Former Jesuit Priest Marko Rupnik, Accused of Abuse, Covered in Lourdes, France, Before Pope Leo XIV Visit

The mosaics on the facade of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Lourdes have been covered ahead of the visit of Pope Leo XIV to the city. The mosaics were created by Marko Rupnik, a former Jesuit priest and artist. Rupnik is facing a trial in the Vatican over allegations made by numerous women of sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse. The trial is ongoing, and no verdict has been reached.

According to a report from worldjournal.com, Rupnik is 70 years old and is a former co-founder of a religious community in Slovenia and a former art professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. That report states that the Holy See acknowledged receiving complaints in 2021 but dismissed them because the events occurred more than 30 years earlier and the 20-year limit had passed.

The same report says that in 2019 Rupnik faced legal action for domestic offenses, confessed, and was released from punishment within a month, which it attributes to reported support from the Pope. It says that in June 2023 Rupnik was removed from the Church of Jesus but remained affiliated with the Centro Aletti. In October 2023, according to that report, Pope Francis announced that proceedings against Rupnik would be dismissed and that an internal investigation into alleged sexual abuse would be reopened. Other reports in this coverage describe the Vatican proceedings as ongoing, and those accounts differ from the October 2023 announcement as reported by worldjournal.com.

In February of the following year, former nun Gloria Branciani became the first to publicly accuse Rupnik, at a press conference, according to the same report. The documentary “Nuns vs. The Vatican,” directed by Lorena Luciano, later premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to address sexual abuse committed by clergy during his visit to Lourdes. He is also scheduled to meet seven victims of sexual abuse by French clergy while in the city, a step that offers care to those harmed and reflects the call to protect the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).