Statue of Virgin Mary Stolen in Ardennes

Case information
Incident date
Country
France
Place
Ardennes
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Desecration
  • Theft
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Censorship or Removal of Public Christian Symbols
Place of Incident
  • Public Christian Symbol (outside place of worship)
Bias Indicators
  • Lack of Other Motive
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
  • Unknown
Response of Local Authorities
  • Unknown
Symbolic image; not a photograph of the reported incident.Image credit: unsplash.com

The bronze statue of the Virgin of Chesnois-Auboncourt (Ardennes), was stolen on March 19 from the entrance to the village, where it had been since 1990. It was fixed to a concrete base with a marble plaque that commemorated Germaine Justin, the donor of the statue. The villagers were disappointed as the statue was beloved by them.

Sources