Who is Marko Rupnik, former Jesuit priest and artist accused of abuse

Father Marko Ivan Rupnik is a former Jesuit priest whose art is well known. He is accused of having committed serious sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse of women for decades and his case is currently being investigated by the Vatican.

Rupnik’s career

Marko Rupnik, 69 years old, was born in 1954 in Zadlog (Slovenia). During his youth he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Rome and at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he earned a doctorate with a thesis on the theological significance of modern art in the light of Russian theology.

In the 1980s he founded the Loyola Community in his native country with the nun Ivanka Hosta, where he allegedly abused nuns.

He is also the founder of the spiritual art workshop Aletti Centre in Rome, from where many of the accusations of abuse have also come.

Accused of committing sexual abuse: 6 years from the beginning of the “caso Rupnik”

According to one chronology spread by the Society of Jesus, The first accusations against Fr. Marko Rupnik were in October 2018, in relation to the acquittal of an accomplice for a sin against the sixth commandment.

In May of the following year, the investigation led by the Society of Jesus considered the accusations credible and a file was sent to the Congregation – now the Dicastery – for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), from where a criminal administrative process was launched. .

In May 2020, the Vatican confirmed the facts and declared Father Rupnik in a state of excommunication. automatic decision. The excommunication lasted only two weeks, as it was lifted by a CDF decree that same month.

In June 2021, new accusations came regarding Fr. Rupnik and some members of the Loyola Community, so the Society of Jesus established a preliminary investigation and restrictions were imposed.

The CDF, in October 2022, noted that the statute of limitations had expired and that no trial could proceed despite the Jesuits urging the Vatican to begin criminal proceedings.

However, in December 2022, the case made the news again after the appearance of new alleged victims of Rupnik in Rome, this time related to the Aletti Centre.

In his capacity as Vatican commissioner for that community, dissolved in December 2023the now Assistant for Consecrated Life of the Holy Father, Mons. Daniele Libanori, confirmed the veracity of the abuses against nuns of whom Rupnik is accused.

The Society of Jesus expelled Father Rupnik in June 2023, and the Diocese of Koper (Slovenia) opened its doors time after.

In October 2023, Pope Francis lifted the prescription of the case and ordered that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith begin a process, after detecting “serious problems in the way it was handled.”

In February 2024, two alleged victims of Fr. Marko Rupnik made their first public appearance and shared his heartbreaking testimony at a press conference in Rome.

It should be noted that Rupnik continues to appear as Jesuit and Vatican consultant in the 2024 Pontifical Yearbook.

World famous artist

Father Rupnik is responsible for numerous religious works around the world and is especially known for his mosaics, in an easily recognizable style.

In 1996, Saint John Paul II entrusted him with the renovation of the mosaic in the Chapel of the mother of The Redeemer in the apostolic palace of the Vatican.

Three years later, the “Pilgrim Pope” presided over the dedication rite of this chapel in which Rupnik and his team restored the Wall of the Incarnation, the Wall of the Ascension and Pentecost, and the Wall of the Parousia.

In February 2011, the Aletti Center renovated the main chapel inside the building of the Spanish Episcopal Conference in Madrid (Spain).

Also in the Spanish capital, the Slovenian priest decorated the main sacristy, the chapter house and the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de Almudena.

In addition, he is responsible for the wall of the main altar of the Sanctuary of the Holy Trinity in Fátima (Portugal), located in front of the place of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary, and his work is also found in the Sanctuary of Lourdes (France).

In Italy, Rupnik designed the ramp and crypt of the lower Church of San Pio in Pietrelcina, in San Giovanni Rotondo, where thousands of Catholic faithful come to venerate Padre Pio.

Likewise, he has decorated the Chapel of the Pontifical Major Roman Seminary in Italy with his famous mosaics; the Manresa Cave Sanctuary (Spain) — where the artist painted 90 biblical faces; the Church of Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia and the Holy Family Chapel of the Knights of Columbus in the United States.

The priest expelled from the Society of Jesus was the author of the logo of the Jubilee of Mercy convened by Pope Francis on December 8, 2015 and was also commissioned to create the official image of the 10th World Meeting of Families that took place in Rome from June 22 to 26, 2022.

Consequences on his art: Should Rupnik’s works be removed or not?

In July of this year, the Bishop of Lourdes (France), Bishop Jean-Marc Micas, stated that the Rupnik mosaics should be removed, but refrained from making a final decision on their fate in the face of “strong opposition.”

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) and member of the C9 that advises Pope Francisasked for caution with the works of art of Marko Rupnik through a letter.

The cardinal’s letter appeared a week after the Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, Paolo Ruffini, defended the use of his art.

Ruffini noted that there is no official verdict yet and that “anticipating a decision is something that, in our opinion, is not good.” Furthermore, he asserted that “removing, erasing, destroying art has never been a good choice.”

At the same time, the lawyer of the alleged victims, Laura Sgrò, asked to remove the mosaics in a letter written on behalf of five complainants and addressed to the bishops.

For their part, the Knights of Columbus announced on July 10 that will cover the Rupnik mosaics located in the two chapels of the National Shrine of Saint John Paul II in Washington DC and in the chapel of the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut.

Patrick Kelly, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, told EWTN News that his works will be covered at least until the Vatican’s formal investigation is completed.

Originally published in December 2023. It has been updated for republication.