Altar and Prayer Books Defaced at Catholic Church in Gersfeld

Country: Germany

Date of incident: January 7, 2026


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.

They damaged an altar book and a prayer intention book that had been left out for parishioners. The full extent of the damage had not been determined at the time of reporting.

Authorities indicated that the act might be linked to a separate case of vandalism at the nearby evangelical‑lutheran Baroque church in Gersfeld (OIDAC reported). The perpetrators had not been identified, and police appealed to the public for any information that could assist in the investigation.