In a quiet but powerful move, Vatican News has begun removing artwork by Fr. Marko Rupnik, the once-renowned mosaicist now accused of abusing over two dozen women, from its website. 

His mosaics, long used to mark major feast days online, were recently replaced or left blank, a shift many survivors say is long overdue.

The removed mosaics include one for the June 9 memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and one that illustrated the feast of the Assumption Aug. 15.

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“I can’t tell you how hopeful of a sign it is for me,” said Weronika, whose name was changed and who is a victim of abuse by a Polish Dominican priest.

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“I saw it immediately and simply felt relieved,” she told OSV News, adding: “you don’t even know how much this gesture means to me. That the victims’ pain was heard at last.”

Since the allegations were revealed, calls to remove the priest’s artwork have grown, including from victims who said the mosaics were a painful reminder of the abuse they suffered. One victim, identified as Sister Samuelle, recounted that she was abused by Rupnik while installing one of his mosaics.

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A number of shrines that featured his work have taken steps to either cover or limit the public display and use of Rupnik’s mosaics since the abuse revelations were made public. The St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington as well as the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France, opted to cover or partially cover the mosaics out of respect for his victims.

OSV News asked the Vatican’s Press Office whether removing Rupnik’s art from Vatican News is a coordinated effort and is awaiting an answer.