Candles and Missal Set on Fire at Church in La Chapelle-Caro

Case information
Incident date
Country
France
Place
La Chapelle-Caro
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Arson
  • Vandalism (all)
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Lack of Other Motive
  • Pattern or Frequency of Attacks
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated

During the fourth week of June 2026, unknown perpetrators entered a church in La Chapelle-Caro, where they deliberately burned candles, broke others and set a missal on fire. The incident occurred only weeks after a similar act of vandalism at another church in the same municipality.

During the fourth week of June 2026, unknown individuals entered the church in La Chapelle-Caro, also located in the municipality of Val d'Oust, France.

Inside the church, several candles were deliberately burned, others were broken, and a missal was found burning. The missal is the liturgical book containing the prayers and texts used for the celebration of Mass.

The parish filed a complaint, and the Ploërmel Gendarmerie opened an investigation.

The incident followed a similar act of vandalism earlier the same month at the church in nearby Le Roc-Saint-André, where unknown individuals burned part of an altar cloth and several candles after entering the church (OIDAC reported). Authorities have not confirmed whether the two incidents are linked.

Sources