TARBES (FRANCE)
The Tablet [Market Harborough, England]
August 21, 2026
By Hannah Brockhaus
Marko Rupnik’s mosaics were added to the neo-Gothic façade of the lower basilica at the Shrine of Lourdes at the end of 2007, when the priest-artist enjoyed a high profile with commissions at major sites across the world.
The bishop who oversees the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes said it will cover all its mosaics by Fr Marko Rupnik, the former Jesuits accused of abuse, ahead of the Pope’s visit next month.
Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes told the French daily La Dépêche du Midi on 20 August that “all of the works on the façade” of the Basilica of the Rosary will be covered and redecorated out of respect for abuse victims, and that they will remain covered afterwards.
EWTN News confirmed the report with the press office of the shrine. Details about how the mosaics are to be covered and when were not yet available.
Bishop Micas’ decision to cover the mosaics comes just over a month before Pope Leo’s scheduled visit to France, which will include events in Lourdes on 26-27 September.
The visibility of the mosaics by Rupnik, who is subject to a canonical trial on charges of spiritual and sexual abuse, risked becoming the literal backdrop of Leo’s Rosary procession and other events at Lourdes.
The topic of sexual abuse and care for victims is still likely to feature in the Pope’s meeting with French bishops on 27 September, though Leo is not expected to address the status of Rupnik’s case.
The Holy See has also said Leo will meet privately with victims of abuse sometime during his apostolic visit to France, but organisers have not disclosed further details.
Rupnik’s mosaics were added to the neo-Gothic façade of the lower basilica at the Shrine of Lourdes at the end of 2007, when the priest-artist enjoyed a high profile with commissions at major sites across the world.
After allegations of spiritual, psychological and sexual abuse of religious sisters became public, he was expelled from the Society of Jesus in June 2023 for refusing to obey restrictions on his activities.
His trial at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith covers allegations that he abused dozens of women religious, including some within the context of the creation of his art.
Micas formed a commission in May 2023 to discuss the future of the Rupnik mosaics. Since July 2024, the art has no longer been lit up at night or during candlelight processions.
For the Jubilee of Hope in 2025, the central doors of the lower basilica, which also feature Rupnik’s artwork, were covered, though the largest mosaics, depicting the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, remained visible.
“My role is to ensure that the shrine welcomes everyone, especially those who are suffering,” Micas told La Dépêche du Midi. “Among them are victims of sexual abuse and assault, both children and adults … Those who are suffering and wounded, who need consolation and healing, must remain the top priority in Lourdes.”
The bishop said the mosaics “will remain covered after the Holy Father’s pilgrimage, following which a new process of reflection will be launched. The current commission will be expanded – notably to include artists and theologians – to consider the future of the basilica’s façade.”
Rupnik’s art features at many shrines and churches across Europe and North America. His workshop was involved in projects for over 200 liturgical spaces around the world, including at Fátima, the Vatican, the St John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, DC, and the tomb of St Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio).
In 2024, the Knights of Columbus covered mosaics by Rupnik in the two chapels of the National Shrine in Washington, and in the chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut.