Fire Broke out in the Holy Cross Church

Case information
Incident date
Country
France
Place
Bastia
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Arson
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Chapel
  • Vandalism of Church
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Other (text field)
Place of Incident
  • Chapel
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Image credit: Corse Net Infos

On 24th February, a fire broke out in the Sainte-Croix church and burnt around 20 square meters. Stained glass windows were also blown out. There were damage to the side entrance and the chapel. The parish suspected arson since neither electricity was installed nor the stored candles were used.

According to witnesses, the fire started in a room at the entrance to the oratory: "We have a doubt about the origin. There is no electrical installation there and the candles on the floor were packed. There are regular intrusions. The church is open all the time. We had a fire two years ago in St. Mary's as well. This raises the question of access to heritage."

Sources