Great celebration with fireworks at the unveiling of Rupnik work
Sanctuary of Aparecida inaugurates mosaics on the east façade made by a centre founded by Rupnik
The National Sanctuary of Aparecida (SP) inaugurated on Saturday (17) the mosaics on the east façade of the basilica, the third completed, depicting scenes from the book of Genesis about creation.
The work, created by the Aletti Center, founded in Italy by Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a former Jesuit and artist accused of spiritual, psychological and sexual abuse of nuns, bears the hallmarks of Rupnik's style, such as the characters' large black eyes.
Rupnik was expelled from the Jesuit order in June 2023. He is currently facing a canonical trial over allegations that he abused dozens of nuns, some in the context of creating his art.
In addition to the Aparecida shrine, the works of Father Rupnik and the Aletti Center are present in several other temples, such as the Redemptoris Mater chapel of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, the sanctuaries of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, in Italy; of Fatima, in Portugal; of Lourdes, in France; and the Sanctuary of Saint John Paul II in Washington, D.C.
Some sanctuaries have decided to cover the mosaics out of respect for the victims of the abuses committed by Rupnik.
The first decision was made in 2024 by the Knights of Columbus, the largest lay Catholic organization in the United States, which covered Rupnik’s mosaics in the two chapels of the National Shrine of St. John Paul II in Washington, D.C., and in the chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut.
“The Knights of Columbus decided to cover these mosaics because our first concern must be for the victims of sexual abuse, who have already suffered immensely in the Church, and who may be further hurt by the continued exposure of the mosaics in the shrine,” Patrick Kelly, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, said in a statement released at the time.
In April 2025, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes, France, also covered the Rupnik mosaics on the two central doors of the Basilica of the Rosary of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes and on the side doors. The coverings are yellow with small crosses and the words “With Mary, Pilgrims of Hope 2025.”
“You know my opinion about the presence of these mosaics on the doors of the basilica,” Bishop Micas said at the time. “It seemed to me, together with my collaborators, that a new symbolic step had to be taken to make the entrance to the basilica easier for all those who cannot pass through the doors today.”
The sanctuary of Fátima in Portugal has decided to keep the mosaics on the back wall of the presbytery of the Basilica of the Holy Trinity, but not to use their image in promotional materials. Responding to the Portuguese website 7MARGENS last April, the sanctuary said that “we are not considering removing them. However, since we became aware of the allegations against Father M.I. Rupnik, we have suspended the use of the image, the entire work and details, in our promotional materials,” the sanctuary said.
The sanctuary “absolutely repudiates the acts committed by Father M. I. Rupnik,” the note continues, and “has already expressed its solidarity with the victims.”
Last May, the National Shrine of Aparecida sent a note to ACI Digital on the subject, saying that “the mosaic covering works on the facades of the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida are being led and executed by the Aletti Center.”
“Since 2020, the studio has been run by Italian artist and doctor of theology Maria Campatelli, and has twelve women and nine men on its board of directors, in addition to dozens of artists of different nationalities who are directly involved in the project,” the note continues.
(Cathcon: that is the same Maria Campatelli below who wrote an open letter to the Centre’s friends and benefactors expressing “great concern” that Rupnik had fallen foul of modernity’s “so-called ‘cancel culture’” and “‘criminalisation’ of art.”)
“Recently, the Vicariate of Rome, to which the studio is subordinate, after a canonical visit, issued an opinion clearly attesting ‘that there is a healthy community life at the Aletti Center, free from specific problems,’” the statement concludes.
The work is part of the Biblical Journey project, whose objective is to cover all the facades of the Shrine with mosaics representing biblical scenes.
“The Biblical Journey Project, above all, is a pastoral project, a desire of the sanctuary to bring devotees of Our Lady closer to the Bible,” said the rector of the sanctuary, Father Eduardo Catalfo, according to the A12 portal, the official news website of the National Sanctuary of Aparecida.
This project is financed with money from the Devotees' Campaign, which is a donation made by devotees of Our Lady from all over Brazil.
“The east façade tells us about Genesis, the creation of the world, the creation of the human being, but it also reminds us that in Christ, in Him and through Him all things were made,” continued the rector.
Construction work on the exterior mosaics of the Sanctuary of Aparecida began in 2019. The north façade was inaugurated in 2022 with scenes from the Book of Exodus. The south façade was inaugurated in 2024, with scenes from the New Testament that narrate the birth of Jesus through his death and resurrection.
According to the sanctuary, the covering of the east façade began in 2024, covering almost four thousand square meters with mosaics created by 39 mosaicists from different countries linked to the Aletti Spiritual Art Center, a school dedicated to the promotion of sacred art, in Rome, Italy.
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