On 24 December 2025, the parish priest of the church of the Sacro Cuore publicly reported repeated acts of vandalism, including repeated property damage and anti-Christian graffiti, affecting churches in Sant’Egidio.
According to L’Ancora Online, the events unfolded in Sant’Egidio alla Vibrata in the province of Teramo, where a group of around seven to ten young people were said to have frequented the church of the Sacro Cuore and other ecclesiastical spaces. The parish priest, Don Luigino Scarponi, stated that among these individuals were two girls, and that the group was mostly of Albanian origin, occasionally joined by Italian peers.
The acts attributed to the group included the removal and damage of church property, such as a holy water bucket, floral decorations, a brass vase, a lamp from the ambo and a microphone with its cable. Walls in and around the church were defaced with offensive and blasphemous graffiti, and the surrounding area was repeatedly left littered. In August, four teenagers gained unauthorised access to the bell tower. " When confronted, they began to respond with insults and steal sacred objects."
In his statement, the parish priest wrote: “It pains my heart to report these things, and it leads me to declare a failure as a priest and as an educator.” The local authorities were informed of the incidents.