The statue of Saint Anthony in the De Kluize sanctuary in Knutsegem in Velzeke and the statue of Julius Caesar on Romeins Plein were vandalized on the weekend of June 14. Their names were sprayed with graffiti. Additionally, all the statues in the sanctuary sculpture garden behind the chapel of Saint Anthony were beheaded.
Everything indicates that these are the same perpetrators. "A shame," Mayor Jenne De Potter (CD&V) responds indignantly. "The police have started a neighborhood investigation hoping to find the perpetrators."
Employee Jacoby Van Der Ende of the non-profit organization Poverello, which manages the sanctuary, is completely upset by the incident. “A colleague was clearing the chapel on Saturday evening when she heard noise in the garden. There often pop up young people who have drunk a little too much. But we have never had vandalism. So we were very shocked when we noticed the decapitated and smeared images on Sunday morning, ”says Jacoby.