Assault on the Church of Santa Maria Magdalena de Ciempozuelos (Madrid)

Case information
Incident date
Country
Spain
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Desecration
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Insult or Incitement
  • Intolerance towards Religious Symbols

On a Thursday morning a group of vandals broke into the Church of Santa Maria Magdalena, destroying the altar shrine and the crown of the Virgin. The church suffered great damage, and the content of the collection box was stolen.

In addition to this damage, the intruders scattered the clothes prepared for the Virgin in honour of the “Dolores Sunday” procession. Moreover, this is not the first theft that the church has experienced; previous thieves have used the same method to destroy numerous religious artifacts.

Sources