Pope Leo XIV Visits Lourdes as Marko Rupnik’s Mosaics Are Covered Over 20 Abuse Allegations
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 26
Pope Leo XIV Visits Lourdes as Marko Rupnik’s Mosaics Are Covered Over 20 Abuse Allegations
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 26
Summary
Lourdes covered all mosaics by Slovenian priest-artist Marko Rupnik before Pope Leo XIV’s Saturday visit, turning the pilgrimage into a visible reckoning with church abuse scandals.
Bishop Jean-Marc Micas said he first covered some works in 2025 out of respect for abuse survivors and expanded that to all of them ahead of Leo’s trip; he said Leo had already stopped Vatican use of Rupnik images.
Rupnik, 71, faces accusations from at least 20 women of sexual, physical and psychological abuse, while a secret Vatican trial is underway and victims’ lawyer Laura Sgrò says her clients have been shut out since 2024.
Leo is due to meet a small group of abuse victims in Lourdes, but critics say he should also visit the nearby Bétharram school, where a June inquiry detailed systemic violence from 1957 to 2004.
The dispute over Rupnik’s art has become a wider test of Leo’s response to a church still scarred in France by a 2021 report estimating nearly 330,000 children were abused over 70 years.