Saint-Martin d'Orly: Statue beheaded and hosts stolen

Case information
Incident date
Country
France
Place
Choisy-le-Roi
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Desecration
  • Theft
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Church
  • Intolerance towards Religious Symbols
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Censorship or Removal of Public Christian Symbols
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Lack of Other Motive
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Image credit: Revue de Presse, Twitter (X)

On February 12, the church of Saint-Martin d'Orly, on the border with Choisy-le-Roi was vandalised. A statue of Mary was beheaded and the consecrated hosts stolen from the tabernacle.

In the building, there was a lot of damage. Desks were broken, the tabernacle containing the consecrated hosts was stolen. A statue of the Mary was beheaded. Many objects littered the floor of the church. The facts were committed before Sunday Mass between eight and nine o'clock in the morning.

The parish priest filed a complaint. Police investigations are underway.

Sources