Pope Leo XIV ordered Rupnik images removed from Vatican sites, bishop says

Pope Leo XIV decided that the Vatican should stop using images by the artist Marko Rupnik less than a month after his election, The Catholic Herald reported. Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Lourdes disclosed the decision in an interview and set out the background to it.

Micas met the pope on June 26 last year. Leo XIV told him he objected to the presence of Rupnik's mosaics, which the Vatican had used widely on its news portals. Micas said "the pope confided in him that he had ordered the removal of reproductions of Rupnik's mosaics, which still appeared in articles on the Vatican's official site, Vatican News."

For years Rupnik's work featured in Vatican liturgical celebrations, despite the growing controversy around him. That intensified after Pope Francis opened an investigation into the abuse allegations against him. Rupnik's art has been closely linked to those allegations, with testimony that some of the incidents took place while he was working on the pieces.

Ruffini's earlier defense and changes at the dicastery

The Dicastery for Communication backed the promotion of Rupnik's images, and its outgoing prefect, Paolo Ruffini, defended their use in the face of criticism. Natasa Govekar, director of the dicastery's Theological-Pastoral Department, also helped circulate his work. She is a member of the Centro Aletti, the center that produces Rupnik's mosaics.

Leo XIV has appointed Montse Alvarado as the new prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, replacing Ruffini. Govekar remains in her post.

Mosaics covered before the Lourdes visit

The removal became apparent about four weeks after Leo XIV's election, when the images were no longer on Vatican websites. The pope was also directly involved in the decision to cover the large Rupnik images at the shrine of Lourdes, in southern France, where all the works are due to be covered before his visit at the end of September.

Micas said "the pope's visit to Lourdes is an opportunity to move forward on this matter," adding that all the works on the facade will be covered and redecorated in connection with the pope's apostolic journey. Covering the works had begun the previous year, and in August the bishop was told that steps would be taken so that Leo XIV would not see the mosaics during his visit.

Legal proceedings underway

The legal case against Rupnik is going ahead, with judges appointed in October. The Vatican recently denied rumors that the artist might be acquitted.