On 8 August 2025, two individuals were reported for desecration and attempted theft at a church in Cittaducale. The incident involved degrading acts inside the church and repeated attempts to break into donation boxes.
The incident took place at the Santa Maria del Popolo Church, where a man and a woman, both reported to be homeless and originally from Spain, entered the church and committed acts of desecration and attempted theft. The exact date of the first incident was not specified in the available report; the case was reported on 8 August 2025.
According to reports, the two individuals tore a cloth from the altar, placed it beneath a statue of Saint Anthony, and defecated on it. They also opened one donation box and attempted to force open four others. The act of defecating on an altar cloth and placing it beneath a saint’s statue constitutes a severe form of desecration.
A nun alerted police after recognising the suspects during a second attempt to enter the church. Thanks to the church’s video surveillance system and the timely warning, the two were identified, apprehended, and reported to authorities for offending a religious confession through vilification and attempted theft.