Reported on 13 July 2026, St Mariä Heimsuchung Church in Rheine-Hauenhorst was targeted by vandals, marking another incident affecting the parish within a short period of time. The repeated damage to the church prompted the parish to temporarily close the building while repairs were carried out.
According to the report from 13 July 2026, an incident of vandalism has occurred at St Mariä Heimsuchung Church in Rheine-Hauenhorst, the latest in a series of repeat attacks. According to the parish, unknown perpetrators entered the church and committed acts of vandalism by spilling candle wax over a stand for votive candles, a church pillar, altar bells, the cross on the altar, the ambo, and a hymn book. Further, the microphones of the sound system had been caked in the wax, possibly rendering them unusable. As a result of these damages, the church had to be temporarily closed for repairs and cleaning.
The report states that repeated attacks have affected the parish community by disrupting access to the church during repair works in the previous instances of vandalism at the church, "however, not yet to this extent." In previous incidents, obscene graffiti had been written on the walls, along with dirt that contained faecal matter, says the parish report.
At the time of reporting, no information had been released concerning possible motives and suspects.