Vatican Tribunal Weighs Fate of Accused Priest's Global Mosaics Amid Abuse Allegations
Marko Rupnik, a 71-year-old Slovenian mosaic artist and ex-Jesuit priest, is undergoing a Vatican canonical trial due to sexual abuse allegations involving approximately twenty nuns. His art can be found in over two hundred locations globally. The allegations emerged in 2022, revealing incidents from the 1980s at the Loyola Community in Ljubljana and Rome's Centro Aletti. He was expelled from the Jesuit order in 2023, prompting a Vatican investigation. Some victims are advocating for the removal of his mosaics; the Knights of Columbus intend to cover his works in 2024, while Lourdes' bishop has mandated aluminum plates for 2025. Most pieces, including those in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel, remain intact. In 2024, Cardinal O'Malley called for caution, resulting in some removals. In October 2025, five judges were appointed by the Dicastery, but no further updates have been provided since then.
Key facts
- Marko Rupnik is a Slovenian mosaicist and former Jesuit priest accused of sexual abuse by about twenty nuns.
- His mosaics are displayed in over two hundred locations globally, primarily in churches across Italy, France, Brazil, and the United States.
- Abuse allegations date to the 1980s at the Loyola Community in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and later at Rome's Centro Aletti.
- Rupnik was expelled from the Jesuit order in 2023 after refusing a new mission following an internal investigation.
- A Vatican canonical trial is ongoing, with five judges appointed by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in October 2025.
- Some victims have called for removal or covering of his works, with actions taken in Washington, New Haven, and Lourdes, France.
- Pope John Paul II commissioned Rupnik's mosaics for the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in Vatican City in the early 1990s.
- Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley urged pastoral prudence in 2024, leading to removal of Rupnik images from Vatican websites.
Entities
Artists
- Marko Rupnik
- Caravaggio
- Benvenuto Cellini
- Filippo Lippi
- Marco Tibaldi
- Stefano Zangarini
Institutions
- Vatican
- New York Times
- Centro Aletti
- Jesuit order
- Knights of Columbus
- Santuario nazionale di san Giovanni Paolo II
- Cappella della santa famiglia
- basilica di Nostra Signora del Rosario
- Palazzo Apostolico
- Istituto Superiore di Scienze Religiose
- chiesa del Corpus Domini
- Dicastero per la dottrina della fede
- Curia
- commissione per combattere gli abusi nella Chiesa
- Comunità Loyola
- Pontificio Seminario Romano
- Ostello “Don Luigi Di Liegro”
- chiesa dei Santi martiri canadesi
- chiesa di San Pio da Pietrelcina
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Ljubljana
- Slovenia
- Vatican City
- Washington
- United States
- New Haven
- Connecticut
- Lourdes
- France
- Brazil
- Bologna
- San Giovanni Rotondo
- Boston