This year's fasting retreats of the Pope with the Roman Curia should not take place in the Redemptoris-Mater-Kapelle designed by Rupnik, reports the Italian newspaper "Il Messaggero" on Wednesday.
Instead, the retreats are to be moved to the Cappella Paolina in the Apostolic Palace.
Several women had accused Rupnik of making them sexually docile, taking advantage of his authority as a clergyman. After the Jesuit order had excluded him, the Slovenian diocese of Koper took him in.
The Pope, who died on Easter Monday, had finally ordered another investigation in October 2023 after the admission of Rupnik to the diocese of Koper – despite the statute of limitations of the acts under church law. In the meantime, a lot had happened in the Rupnik case.
In mid-October last year, the Vatican Dicastery of Faith had appointed a special court of five. The women and men, who according to the Vatican have no offices in the Curia, are to decide in the process.
Dealing with Artworks
The Slovenian has designed numerous churches and chapels all over the world as a mosaic artist, including the Redemptoris-Mater Chapel, where the fasting retreats usually take place.
But dealing with his artworks has been controversial since the allegations became known. In some churches, such as the Basilica in the Marian pilgrimage site of Lourdes, the works have been imposed, in others they can still be seen.
The Vatican media has also been criticized for a long time, as his works were used for illustration.
About a month after Leo XIV took office, they disappeared from the websites.
As for this year's fasting retreats, the Bishop of Trondheim, Erik Varden, will lead them. Varden has been chairman of the Nordic Bishops’ Conference since 2024. Since 2019 he has been appointed Prelate of Trondheim, in 2020 he was ordained a bishop. He was the first Norwegian-born chief shepherd of the diocese of Trondheim since the Reformation.
In addition, Varden has been the Apostolic Administrator of the second Norwegian Territorial Prelature of Tromso since 2023. Before his time as a prelate, the Trappist Abbot was Mount St Abbey. Bernard in Leicestershire (United Kingdom).