All cases

St. Luc Church in Brest Desecrated: Tabernacle set on Fire

September 21, 2024, France

On Saturday 21 September 2024, a serious act of vandalism took place in the chapel of Saint-Luc church in Brest. The tabernacle on the altar was smashed and then set on fire. As a result, the church will remain closed to the public until 2 October.

Repeated vandalism at Chester church

September 20, 2024, United Kingdom

Repeated incidents of vandalism at the 700-year-old St Peter's Church in Chester have caused the historic stained glass windows to shatter and necessitated extensive repairs subsequently. Now the St Peter’s Church has submitted an application to Cheshire West and Chester Council to fit stainless steel protective guards to six windows.

Suspected Arson at Coptic Orthodox Church in Bristol

September 20, 2024, United Kingdom

A man has been arrested in connection with a fire in a church courtyard. The blaze broke out at St Marina Coptic Orthodox Church, Bristol in early morning on September 20.

Valuable religious artefacts stolen from church

September 19, 2024, Norway

Unknown perpetrators broke into the church in Vallset and stole valuable religious artefacts.

Church facade and cemetery wall vandalised with paintball

September 18, 2024, Austria

A recently renovated church in the community of Wernberg, Austria, was vandalised with paintball bullets. The facade, cemetery wall and forecourt of the church were smeared with a brownish substance. The parish has published pictures showing numerous brown dots.

Church in Wijchen targeted with theft, arson and vandalism

September 15, 2024, Netherlands

On 15 September, two statues of Mary were badly damaged and personal belongings and devotional objects were set on fire in the St Anthony Abbot Church in Wijchen, Gelderland, both in the Marian Chapel and in the nearby Lourdes Grotto.

Fire at Parish of Migliarina

September 14, 2024, Italy

On 14 September, the oratory of Migliarina church in Viareggio caught fire. The police suspect arson. The interior of the building was completely destroyed. According to the parish priest, young boys were in the oratory when the fire broke out and had to be evacuated by the fire brigade.

Church vandalised with nationalistic graffiti

September 14, 2024, Poland

The facade of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Entrustment in Tarnowiec was painted with blue spray with vulgar inscriptions and symbols associated with nationalistic ideologies.

Altar of Bissendorf church smeared with pentagrams

September 14, 2024, Germany

On the night of 14 September, unknown persons smeared inscriptions in the form of pentagrams on the altar, pulpit and doors of St Michael's Church in Bissendorf. They also stole a plate with a chalice and a small figure of an angel.

Objects in church damaged with fire

September 13, 2024, Germany

On 13 September, unknown perpetrators set fire to and damaged several objects in the church of St John the Baptist. They also tried to open the collection box.

Church in Mill vandalised with fire

September 13, 2024, Netherlands

On 13 September, unknown persons entered the Willibrordus church in Mill, the Netherlands, and set fire to the candle stand by putting paper on the candles, causing a thick layer of candle wax on the floor and leaving the church covered in soot particles.

San Fernando Cemetery Vandalised

September 10, 2024, Spain

On 10 September, the San Fernando cemetery in Seville was the scene of vandalism. More than 60 graves were damaged during the night, with crosses and gravestones overturned and even some coffins damaged. Nothing was stolen.

Vandals destroy church altar

September 9, 2024, Germany

On September 9, the altar of St Mary in the Catholic parish of St. Peter and Paul in Grevenbroich, Germany, was overturned and smashed to pieces. The front part of the church remains closed due to the severe damage caused by the vandalism.

Burglars wreak havoc in church in Skara

September 8, 2024, Sweden

Over the weekend of 7-8 September, unknown assailants broke into the Skånings-Åsaka church in Skara. They smashed the doors, windows and safe. The church's pastor says: "It's a real mess". The whole sacristy was turned upside down.

Man insults faithful during mass

September 8, 2024, Poland

On Sunday September 8, a 40-year-old man entered the church in Tarnobrzeg during mass on a bicycle. According to witnesses, he rode several laps in front of the altar while shouting vulgarities in English and making offensive gestures.

Muslim Politician uses Christian images for shooting exercise

September 7, 2024, Switzerland

The Zurich municipal councillor and Bosnian Muslim, Sanija Ameti, published photos of herself using a reproduction of a an image of Mary and Jesus as target practice at a shooting exercise on Instagram on September 7. The pierced heads of Mary and the baby Jesus could be seen on the picture.

Statue of Mary vandalised

September 7, 2024, Poland

On September 7, the Statue of Mary at the parish cemetery of St. Bartholomew in Goraj was doused with oil. The attack caused sadness among local parishioners.

Arson Attempt: Marian chapel in Gennep targeted for the third time

September 7, 2024, Netherlands

On September 7, the Mariakapel at the Touwslagersgroes in Gennep, North Limburg, was the target of vandals for the third time in a short period of time.

Bomb threat against Kosice Cathedral

September 6, 2024, Slovakia

A bomb threat was sent by email to the Cathedral of St. Elisabeth in Kosice, Slovakia. It was claimed that explosives were hidden in the premises. Consequently, the church had to be evacuated and was searched by security forces.

Man throws knife at woman and vandalises Sacré-Cœur church in Nice

September 6, 2024, France

The police arrested a man for defacing the Sacré-Cœur church in Nice on September 6. He smashed several statues and threw a knife at a woman.