In the municipality east of Rouen, Saint-Léger du Bourg-Denis, the Catholic church and cemetery were found desecrated on Saturday, June 20. This event is not the first in the region of Rouen, and follows a series of thefts, vandalism, and desecrations of Catholic churches in the area.
Vandalism and desecration were reported of the Catholic church of Saint-Léger, its adjoining cemetery, several graves, and monument to the dead. On the previous day, Saturday June 20, acts of vandalism had been observed at the three locations and police services were on-site that same day to confirm the damage and begin their investigation.
In strong terms, the local community condemned the acts of desecration and vandalism via social media and affirmed its commitment to clearing the damage as soon as posisble: "The municipality condemns with the greatest firmness these acts that harm our common heritage and hurt many residents."
Furthermore, this kind of damage is not uncommon in the region of Rouen. In recent months there have been several reported cases of desecration and theft (OIDAC reported). Around the same time, there was one case of attempted arson at the church of Clères which was of particular concern to the Archbishop of Rouen, Monisgnor Lebrun (OIDAC, reported).