An unknown person attempted to set fire to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Elche while Mass was being celebrated inside. By using paraffin from a chandelier, the perpetrator set a fire between two wooden doors. Fortunately a parishioner noticed the smoke and the flames could be smothered in time.
This was not the first time that the church had been vandalized. During the preceding months several candelabras and metal crucifixes disappeared and at Easter, two images were stolen.