
In Donetsk region, Ukraine, a skete of the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra was targeted in a theft and act of vandalism during the night of 24–25 January 2026, resulting in the theft of bells and sacred objects from the religious site.

A theft at the Église Saint-Winoc in Plouhinec, Finistère, was reported on 25 January when the cross from the church’s main altar was removed by unknown perpetrators, parish authorities confirmed.

A statue of the Virgin Mary disappeared from a small roadside shrine in the Bródno district of Warsaw, Polish media reported. The figure was taken from a chapel located on Syrokomli Street, where it had been kept behind glass.

A Christian church, Grace Church Greenwich, was denied the chance to book a stall at Goldsmiths University’s Freshers’ Fair because the booking contractor, Native, stated it could no longer “facilitate bookings for religious groups at these events.” Grace Church challenged the policy as discriminatory, and the company subsequently suspended the ban, allowing bookings from the church and similar groups.

In January 2026, the Vienna Administrative Court ruled that a peaceful prayer vigil held in the proximity of an abortion facility in Vienna falls within the scope of the constitutionally protected freedom of assembly. The decision overturned an earlier prohibition issued by the Vienna police authorities.

The Metropolitan Police blocked a UK Independence Party “Walk With Jesus” march scheduled for 31 January in Whitechapel, east London, citing fears it would provoke a hostile reaction from the local Muslim community and lead to “serious violence and disorder.”

A statue of the Virgin Mary was found to have been deliberately knocked over and damaged on 21 January 2026 inside the Église Saint-Sylve in Toulouse, where the parish priest discovered the overturned figure after the morning Mass.

Between 16 and 21 January 2026, the Martin Luther Church in Emden was vandalised with graffiti, and its lightning rod wire was deliberately damaged by unknown individuals.

A theft occurred at the church of Santa Maria Nascente in Grone in mid-January, when two individuals from the Milan area stole a ceramic statuette of the infant Jesus from the church’s nativity scene.

On the morning of 19 January 2026, an unknown individual set fire to a liturgical missal inside the Chiesa del Monserrato in Alessandria.

On 18 January 2026, vandals defaced the rear façade of the Iglesia de Santiago el Burgo in Zamora with a slogan: “More housing and fewer churches”.

All Saints Church in Buncton, West Sussex, suffered extensive damage after almost all of its windows were smashed and fixtures vandalised between 13 and 18 January.

An incident took place inside the Cappella del Santissimo Sacramento at the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, where a man threw several sacred objects from the altar to the ground during Eucharistic adoration.

At the Église Saint-Sever in Rouen, France, consecrated hosts were stolen from the tabernacle of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament on 16 January 2026, an act described as grave profanation.

Vandals targeted the Nostra Signora del Monte church in Golfo Aranci, causing damage to the outdoor altar and destroying surveillance equipment.

In July 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) communicated Union of Atheists v. Greece (Application No. 001-244533), a case seeking the removal of Christian icons from Greek courtrooms. The application reflects a broader attempt to eliminate longstanding religious symbols from public institutions across Europe, raising concerns about whether state neutrality is increasingly interpreted as requiring the erasure of religious heritage from public life.

A deliberate fire was set inside St. Josef church in Allershausen, Bavaria, causing damage to the interior.

Vandals targeted the Lutheran Church in Bad Marienberg, Westerwald, Germany, overturning furniture, scattering ash, and inverting a wooden cross, causing damage to both property and religious symbols.

Police identified and detained a 41‑year‑old woman who stole a Gospel book from a church in Nowy Tomyśl and later burned it, with residents assisting in her identification.

At a church in Doganella di Ninfa, 15 nativity scene statues, each measuring about 30 centimetres in height, were stolen.

On 12 January, a church in Metz was vandalised, marking a repeated attack on the Église de la Sainte-Famille.

A small church in the Granzette cemetery was vandalised over the weekend, with human waste found near the altar.

Vandals destroyed a nativity scene displayed on the church forecourt in Cordovado, in the province of Pordenone, during the night of 10–11 January 2026, prompting condemnation from local authorities.

Vandals defaced Zamora’s Church of Santa María la Nueva with slogans accusing the church of being "accomplice" of Franco and anarchist graffiti.

A church in Agropoli was vandalised in a late‑evening incident that left sacred furnishings and a religious statue damaged.

A Nativity scene inside a church in Le Passage, France, was vandalised in early January 2026, with the statue of the infant Jesus decapitated and dismembered and other figures broken.

A suspected arson attack occurred at a Catholic church in Novi Sad, northern Serbia, on Wednesday night.

Vandals targeted the Catholic church of Mariä Himmelfahrt in Gersfeld between 5 and 6 January, defacing prayer and altar books, in an incident possibly linked to vandalism at the evangelical‑lutheran Baroque church the day before.

A pro-life community group in Alcalá de Henares reported that its nativity-scene parade float was vandalised at the end of the Three Kings Parade and filed an official complaint.

According to recent reports, several churches in Steyr have been repeatedly vandalised since December, including a confessional set on fire.

On January 5, vandals entered the Lutheran Baroque church in Gersfeld on 5 January and caused deliberate damage to the building.

A street preacher in Utrecht was assaulted during an evangelising activity over the weekend, according to a report.

Investigators have found signs indicating that a fire in a church in Kirchberg an der Murr has been caused intentionally. The blaze caused damage to interior elements of the building.

A statuette from a Nativity scene was stolen and damaged during an overnight incident outside the church of San Francesco in Lerici on New Year’s Eve.

On the morning of 2 January 2026, a fire broke out at the Protestant Christuskirche in the centre of Neunkirchen, Saarland. Due to the significant amount of smoke caused by the fire, it took the fire brigade several hours to ventilate the building.

In Paris on 2 January, the statue of Jeanne d’Arc on the Place Saint‑Augustin, located in front of the Église Saint‑Augustin, was vandalised in full daylight. An individual climbed the monument and forcibly removed the blade of the saint’s sword in the presence of passers‑by.

The Holy Family statuettes were stolen from a Nativity scene at a church in Montoro.

In December 2025, a church in Ankara received a phone call that escalated from inquiries about Christianity to threats and abusive language directed at the church and its official.

On New Year’s Eve in Algarrobo, vandals targeted public festive displays, burning Christian‑themed Christmas decorations, including a nativity scene in Plaza de España.

St. Johann Evangelist Church in Vienna was defaced with graffiti on December 30, 2025, including Arabic writing and an Antifa symbol. Police launched an investigation amid political condemnation and reports of repeated targeting of the site.

The nativity scene at the Parish Church of Brandara, in Ponte de Lima, was stolen during the night from Monday into Tuesday.
On 30 December 2025, a statue of Our Lady outside a church in Middlesbrough was repeatedly pushed to the ground and smashed, causing extensive damage. The destruction of a long-standing Marian statue caused shock among parishioners and local residents.

Vandals targeted the recently restored Church of La Virgen de la Luz in Cuenca, Spain, defacing its walls with graffiti and damaging the historic site.

Police released surveillance footage after a figurine depicting Jesus was stolen from a public nativity scene in front of the Church of St George in Sopot on the night of 29 December.

Unknown individuals fired gunshots and detonated an explosive device at the secondary entrance of the San Filippo Neri church in Palermo’s Zen neighborhood.

The tabernacle of a church in Valladolid was forced and consecrated Hosts were stolen. This was the second such incident in the diocese this year, and Archbishop Luis Argüello has announced a public act of reparation.

Unknown perpetrators targeted the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Trento, covering its exterior walls with large black and blue spray‑painted graffiti. The action has been condemned as anti-Christian targeting of a symbolic religious site by local authorities.

A Catholic church in Witten was vandalised during the Christmas period, with a window damaged and security equipment destroyed.

Firefighters in Lourdes contained a crypt fire at the Sacré‑Cœur parish church after smoke was seen escaping the building, with investigators reporting debris used as ignition material and clear signs of unauthorised entry.

An unknown perpetrator forcibly damaged the main entrance door of St. John’s Church in Wallersdorf.

Unknown individuals ignited torn pages from prayer books on the church gallery in St. Maria, Haßlach, causing scorch marks and wax damage to the pews below. Thankfully, the fire did not spread, but the church suffered property damage.

On Christmas Eve vandals smashed a statue of the Infant Jesus and relics in the Lady Chapel desecrated at St. Patrick’s Church in Edinburgh. There was blood left in multiple areas of the sanctuary, and the figure was thrown into a bin during a confrontation between two distressed visitors.

A passing vehicle launched firecrackers at the San Carlo parish nativity in Sezze, damaging the Christian display minutes before midnight Mass.

A masked man in a black cloak, gold mask, and plush ears disrupted the Christmas Vespers and approached the front of Cologne Cathedral before being escorted out by church security.

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.

The KALEB Family Centre fell victim to politically charged graffiti and paint attacks on Christmas Eve.

A church in Tombolo was vandalised during the Christmas period, causing structural damage that led to restricted access to the site.

In Kahla in the Saale-Holzland district, unknown individuals stole and damaged parts of a Christmas nativity scene displayed outside the Catholic church of St Nikolaus in December 2025.

On 21 December, a figure of the Christ Child was found hanging by the neck in a nativity scene in the market square of Bolesławiec. Surveillance footage showed hooded individuals entering the scene and tying the doll to a rope in the manner of a gallows.

A church in Vienna was repeatedly defaced with Arabic slogans and Syrian nationalist clan codes in December 2025, prompting a police investigation.

Children discovered cigarette butts placed on Nativity figurines and a swastika drawn on St. Joseph’s silhouette at parish and municipal displays in Lentate sul Seveso.

75-year-old grandmother and Christian prayer group leader Rose Docherty has been arrested a second time and criminally charged for holding a sign reading “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want” within 200 metres of an abortion facility in Glasgow.

Unknown perpetrators shattered six windowpanes at the historic St. Johann church, prompting a police investigation and public appeals for information.

On 19 December, an intentionally set fire destroyed the wooden altar dedicated to Saint Anne inside the parish church of Saletto, in Vigodarzere.

Multiple Nativity displays in Solliès‑Ville were stolen or vandalised, prompting concerns among residents and volunteers who maintain the Christian installations.

A break‑in at Notre‑Dame‑de‑l’Assomption resulted in the theft of a revered relic, prompting condemnation from parish and city officials.

British charitable volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has been criminally charged in Birmingham under the UK’s new national abortion “buffer zone” law for silently praying near an abortion facility, with her trial scheduled for 29 January 2026. This is the first known prosecution under the Public Order Act 2023, highlighting tensions between public-order regulations and freedom of conscience.

Authorities detained a Polish university student accused of preparing an ISIS‑inspired explosive attack on a Christmas market.

UN human rights experts have raised alarm over legislative and administrative measures in Estonia that target the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church (EOCC). They warned that these actions—ranging from legal amendments to restrictive treatment of clergy—could disproportionately limit religious freedom.

Police opened a criminal investigation after unknown perpetrators etched a Nazi symbol into the wall of a church in Lower Saxony.

A desecration of the Church of the Angel in Camaiore involved blood traces on the altar, misuse of sacred objects, and prompted both police investigation and a call for reparation by the Archdiocese of Lucca.
Historic St Mary’s Church in Coleorton, Leicestershire suffered costly damage when unknown perpetrators smashed two of its stained glass panels in what police and clergy described as “mindless vandalism”.

A holy water font at St. Fidelis Catholic Church in Burladingen was deliberately filled with urine in an act of targeted desecration shocking parishioners and clergy. The parish priest called the act "a slap in the face of a believer."

German authorities have detained five men in Bavaria accused of planning a radical Islamist–motivated vehicle attack on a Christmas market. Investigators say the plot was disrupted at an early stage through coordinated action by security services.

A UK primary school teacher was suspended in March 2024 and later dismissed after telling a Muslim student that “Britain is still a Christian state,” citing the King as head of the Church of England and describing Islam as a minority religion. The teacher, who had also allegedly suggested the student could attend a nearby Islamic school if they preferred a religious setting, faced both police and safeguarding investigations. Although he was initially banned from working with children, he successfully appealed the decision and is now pursuing legal action against.

A criminal court in Vitoria, Basque Country, has acquitted 21 pro‑life volunteers accused of harassment for praying peacefully outside an abortion clinic, ruling that they had “done nothing more than exercise their free right of assembly” and behaved in an “exquisitely peaceful manner.” The court found no evidence of intimidating conduct under the penal code’s anti‑harassment provision.

The European Commission has excluded the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE) and the World Youth Alliance (WYA) from EU funding after rejecting multiple project applications, citing alleged violations of equality measures and “EU values.” FAFCE’s president describes the decisions as ideological discrimination, arguing that they penalise organisations that support families, children and human dignity while holding pro-life convictions.

In Florence, black spray-painted graffiti stating “The only church that enlightens is the one that burns” and featuring the anarchist circled “A” appeared on the construction coverings of the Carmine Basilica.

Authorities in Bologna investigated a fire at the Santuario in via del Borgo San Pietro, where flames engulfed the hedges surrounding the Catholic Church’s garden, prompting suspicions of arson.

Police detained a man after he disrupted a Catholic service by removing nativity figures, striking the altar, profaning liturgical garments, shouting in Arabic through the church microphone, and attempting to attack parishioners before being restrained outside.

Based on a report, Catholic schools in France are facing state inspections criticised as abusive and humiliating. Teachers reported unannounced classroom visits, students being questioned about their faith, and pressure to remove Christian symbols, all of which undermine the schools’ Catholic identity. Catholic education authorities warn that these practices violate both educator dignity and parents’ right to provide religious education.

Stone sculptures at the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche and Hildesheimer Dom were damaged, with facial features deliberately broken.

Two wax-smeared swastikas were discovered on the interior wall of a Lutheran church in Seligenstadt.

An arson attack destroyed the parish priest’s vehicle in Francofonte, following earlier vandalism against the church grounds.

Radical activists smashed windows and spray-painted “218 abtreiben” on the Free Evangelical Church Kassel-Ost, citing its support for unborn life as the motive.

Acts of vandalism targeted Christmas decorations at Villar de Olalla, damaging religious symbols and prompting a municipal appeal for information.

Two altar cloths were set on fire inside Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church in Fonsorbes, Occitania, with straw from the Christmas nativity scene reportedly moved to fuel the flames.

A theft took place at the Hospital Virgen del Puerto in Plasencia in early December 2025, when several consecrated hosts were reported missing from the chapel’s tabernacle.

The Chapel at Termini Station in Rome was closed after a man was reported to have urinated on the altar. The closure is deprived the community of access.

Graffiti with hateful anti-Christian slogans, including phrases like “The only church that shines is the one that burns”, was discovered on the Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine des Chartreux, prompting condemnation from city officials, police, and church leaders, and leading to formal complaints and calls for justice.

A woman discovered flames and smoke inside the parish church of Sedico. Police are suspecting an arson by vandals who targeted the building.

A Protestant church in Erbach was vandalised and desecrated. The incident involved damage to church property and degrading acts inside the building.

For yet another year, vandals have targeted the Christmas nativity scene at Brussels’ Grand Place, stealing the head of the baby Jesus figurine.

Anti-Israel demonstrators scaled the towers of Vienna's Votive Church and placed Palestinian flags on the spire. The Archdiocese condemned the incident, hired a crew to remove the flags, and announced that they may take legal action.

Two churches, a parish facility, and other buildings in Delmenhorst were vandalised with red paint. The graffiti included the word “Allah” written in Arabic script.

The St. Salvatoris Parish in Geesthacht (Schleswig-Holstein) had to cancel the annual Christmas market after receiving a threatening letter. Police are investigating the threats.

The launch of Brussels’ Winter Wonders Christmas market was interrupted when demonstrators set off smoke bombs, waved Palestinian flags, and unsettled families.

Authorities investigated a deliberate fire at a Laindon church previously subjected to repeated racist vandalism.

The Anglican and Methodist Church of St Giles was twice targeted by arson when rubbish was set on fire at its entrances—causing damage to the church door and prompting police appeals for information.

Authorities detained a 55-year-old man in Parabiago after he entered a parish church and toppled statues on the altar.