CV NEWS FEED // The bishop of Lourdes recently revealed that he is considering whether to remove mosaics done by the disgraced Fr Marko Rupnic from the shrine’s exterior.
In an exclusive interview with Catholic News Agency, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes said that he plans to make a decision regarding the mosaics “by this spring.”
Rupnik’s mosaics representing the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary have occupied their prominent position at the base of the The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes since 2008. The original structure was built in 1885 at the request of the Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous.
Micas formed a special commission last year to consider the future of alleged abuser Rupnik’s work, which is displayed prominently at the front of the shrine. According to CNA, “the Bishop of Lourdes says that he has received a ‘pile of letters’ from Catholics all over the world as he considered whether to remove the mosaics.”
As CatholicVote previously reported in October 2023, Pope Francis received significant backlash after the Vatican allowed a Slovenian diocese to incardinate the former Jesuit, allowing him to freely exercise his priestly ministry.
In response to public outcry against the decision, along with a petition from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Pope Francis reopened the case against Rupnik for investigation just days later.
Rupnik is accused of having sexually and spiritually abused over 20 adult women.
CNA’s report notes that Bishop Micas “has met with victims of abuse, heard from sacred art specialists, and consulted with experts from across France who make up the commission.”
One volunteer told the bishop that she had met with many women who had come to Lourdes “to ask for special healing after abuse,” but that Rupnik’s mosaics showcased at the Basilica caused them pain.
Rupnik’s work is displayed in the grand entrance of the Basilica along the facade of the two curved ramps, or “arms of the Immaculate Conception,” which encircle Rosary Square.
“For me,” the woman told Micas, “and for [victims of abuse], the arms are not the arms of the Immaculate Conception. They are the arms of Father Rupnik.”
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