Mosaic

A newly ordained Jesuit priest has publicly apologised after celebrating Mass in front of a mosaic by Marko Rupnik, saying he felt “deeply embarrassed” and questioning the continued silence surrounding the disgraced former Jesuit’s abuse allegations A Jesuit priest has apologised after celebrating Holy Mass in front of a mosaic created by the disgraced Slovenian priest Marko Rupnik. In a social media post, Fr Pierre Alexandre Collomb stated that he was “deeply embarrassed to have celebrated a Mass in front of a Rupnik mosaic, a Jesuit sexual abuser”. He continued by explaining that he had “begun the celebration by mentioning the victims of this man and my shame as a Jesuit”. The priest, who was ordained last year, also pointed out that there is “no mention of the victims or of this man’s actions” in the chapel, which he mistakenly identifies as “Bon Secours Chapel” rather than “Bon Conseil”, in the Archdiocese of Paris. He then asks: “How much longer this silence?” Marko Rupnik stands accused of abusing around 20 women, predominantly religious sisters, in one of the most troubling cases of clerical abuse in recent decades. His abuse appears to have been known to parts of the Church leadership before it became public, notably senior Czech and Slovenian prelates in the 1990s, whilst he continued to enjoy a privileged position in ecclesiastical life. In 2018, allegations of abuse were reported to Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, Rupnik’s superior, and in 2019 the Vatican deemed the accusations credible. Also in 2019, Rupnik was convicted and sanctioned by the Holy See for the ecclesiastical crime of absolution of an accomplice, which carries the penalty of excommunication. The excommunication was later lifted by Pope Francis after Rupnik repented of his crime. In 2020, Rupnik preached a Lenten meditation for priests working in the Roman Curia, attended by Pope Francis and Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, then Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 2021, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith received a complaint alleging abuse of nuns in 1995 but ultimately dismissed the case because, under canon law at the time, the statute of limitations expired after 20 years, whereas the allegations related to events that had occurred almost 30 years earlier. Despite this, Rupnik designed the logo for the 2022 World Meeting of Families and is known to have met privately with Pope Francis in January 2022. In 2023, he was expelled by the Jesuits for a “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience” but was then incardinated as a priest in the Diocese of Koper in Slovenia. Later that year, Pope Francis lifted the statute of limitations to allow the case against Rupnik to be reopened and, in March 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith began selecting judges for a canonical trial. There has been significant delay in the process, and the trial has yet to begin. Rupnik’s art appears in a number of prominent churches around the world, including the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and the façade of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Lourdes, France. Many institutions have either removed or covered the artwork of the disgraced priest. In 2024, Bishop Joseph Strickland called for his work to be “jettisoned from anything Catholic”. Despite this, the Centro Aletti, an international centre for art, theology and spirituality in Rome founded by Rupnik, continues to promote his work. It has also been reported that Rupnik is living in a monastery about an hour outside Rome and continues to travel internationally. In March 2025, he was confronted by a journalist at Rome’s airport.