Mosaics of Rupnik in Lourdes March 31, 2025

3 questions for Mgr Jean-Marc Micas, Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes

On Monday 31 March, two entrance doors to the Rosary Basilica, on which mosaics by Rupnik are depicted, were covered. Why this choice?

You know my opinion about the presence of these mosaics on the doors of the basilica. Together with my colleagues, I believed that a new symbolic step had to be taken so that access to the basilica would be made possible for all people who are currently unable to cross that threshold. All the doors of the Rosary Basilica will therefore be adapted.

This is the Jubilee Year. Holy doors were opened in Rome in the four great basilicas. I issued a decree that the Sanctuary of Lourdes is one of the two places in our diocese (along with the cathedral of Tarbes) where one can experience the Jubilee Year and receive the plenary indulgence. Entering through the entrance doors of the basilica had to be of the symbolic level of this moment.

On the Friday of the third week of Lent, March 28, the entire Church of France observed the day of prayer and remembrance for the victims of sexual abuse that occurred within the Church. The two side doors were covered on this Monday, and the two large central doors will be covered in a few days, before the start of the pilgrimage season in Lourdes.

You announced on July 2, 2024 "that it would be desirable to remove these relics". Is this a first step towards that? This is not a first step, but a second step! The first step was to stop lighting the façade of the Rosary Basilica in the evenings during the processions, starting in July last year.

What will be the next steps?

A working group is doing the thinking on this and is guiding me in my decisions. We prefer to move forward in peace, rather than in the heat of pressure coming from different sides. We are working in the long term, for the victims, for the Church, for Lourdes and its message for everyone.

Source: https://www.lourdes-france.com/en/rupnik-mosaics-in-lourdes/