Church covers mosaics by priest accused of sexual abuse for Pope’s visit
Church covers mosaics by priest accused of sexual abuse for Pope’s visit
Vivian SongSun, September 27, 2026 at 3:52 PM UTC
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Workers cover a mosaic ahead of the Pope’s visit to the pilgrimage site of Lourdes - AFP /VALENTINE CHAPUIS
Mosaics in France designed by an allegedly abusive priest were covered up for a visit by Pope Leo XIV on Sunday.
The pontiff met French bishops at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Lourdes, the façade of which is adorned with mosaics designed by the Rev Marko Rupnik, one of the Catholic Church’s best-known mosaic artists.
More than two dozen women have accused Rupnik of psychologically, spiritually and sexually abusing them, starting in the 1990s and including the period in which he created the artworks.
Mr Rupnik is currently on trial in a Vatican court.
The covers served as a reminder of alleged abuse in the Catholic Church, and of the abuse case inherited by Leo from Pope Francis.
Workers cover a mosaic made by Marko Rupnik, a Slovenian priest and world-renowned mosaic artist - AFP/VALENTINE CHAPUIS
The pontiff urged French bishops to persevere in their battle against the “scourge” of sexual violence in the Catholic Church.
On Sunday he commended the bishops for seeking “truth, justice, forgiveness, restitution” in the sexual abuse scandal that has plagued the Catholic Church in France for decades.
“You have faced with determination the painful scourge of abuse of minors committed by members of the clergy or within an ecclesial context,” he said in a prepared statement.
“It is important to persevere along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance.”
Pope Leo’s comments came five years after a report published by an independent commission found that 3,000 priests and church workers sexually abused 330,000 children in France over 70 years.
On the third morning of his four-day visit to France, Pope Leo arrived at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary at Lourdes, a Catholic pilgrimage site, where the covered façade set the tone for the rest of the day.
Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims at Lourdes before celebrating mass - Getty Images/Simone Risoluti
Lourdes Bishop Jean-Marc Micas began covering some of the mosaics last year out of respect for survivors of sexual abuse, many of whom make the pilgrimage to Lourdes in search of healing.
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Ahead of Pope Leo’s visit, the bishop ordered that the façade, designed by the disgraced 71-year-old Slovenian priest, be covered completely.
Mr Rupnik’s case was allegedly covered up for three decades by his Jesuit superiors, and even Francis was suspected of having protected his former Jesuit. After a media outcry, Francis ordered a canonical trial in 2024, which is ongoing.
Mr Rupnik’s case posed the question of what to do with his mosaics, which adorn basilicas around the world.
In 2024, Lourdes Bishop Jean-Marc Micas decided to no longer illuminate the façade of the Notre Dame du Rosaire Basilica at night.
He subsequently ordered the decorated doors to be covered, and more recently decided to cover the façade’s mosaics entirely. He reasoned that abuse victims who come to Lourdes for healing should not be forced to see them.
A Saint Pierre statue in front of banners announcing the Pope’s visit to Lourdes - Shutterstock/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO
In a letter to Leo ahead of his trip, five women who say they were abused by Mr Rupnik praised Micas’ decision to cover the mosaics but criticised the Vatican’s treatment of their case and the three decades it had taken for them to be heard.
Upon his arrival, the Pope also paused in front of a photograph depicting a statue of a child in tears, which was hung shortly after the publication of the 2021 report documenting the scale of sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church. The photo was taken by a victim, and symbolised victims’ collective suffering.
During a mass in front of 150,000 people gathered in Lourdes, the Pope said that “to heal the deep wounds, the infidelities, and the painful missteps committed...we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord’s purifying gaze”, without specifically mentioning sexual abuse.
The mosaics by Marko Rupnik, who has been accused of sexual abuse - AFP /JEAN-CHRISTOPHE CHARTRE
After the mass, Pope Leo was scheduled to meet behind closed doors seven victims who were abused in the Catholic school, parish or diocesan environment.
But the meeting has drawn heavy criticism from victims associations, who claim their requests to meet the Pope went unanswered.
Alain Esquerre, spokesman for the victims of L’institution Notre-Dame de Bétharram, a French Catholic school, told FranceInfo: “They’re picking out individuals, they’re sidelining the collective.”
Marie Derain de Vaucresson,the president of the Independent National Body for Recognition and Redress, added: “The systemic nature of sexual violence is downplayed.”
Source: “AOL Breaking”
