Recurring Vandalism, Desecrations and Thefts Force Churches to Restrict Opening Hours
According to a report from 14 August 2026, several churches in the Diocese of Reggio Emilia have recently experienced thefts, vandalism, and attempted desecration, including an unsuccessful attempt to force open a tabernacle. The repeated incidents have led to restrictions on church opening hours, affecting access to places of prayer and causing concern within the religious community and their historic and artistic heritage.
The incidents were reported on 14 August 2026 in churches across the Reggio Emilia region. Across the Diocese, churches have been repeatedly targeted for theft and vandalism, for instance at churches in Garfagnolo di Castelnovo ne’ Monti and Rosano di Vetto, as well as a theft at the Oratory of the Santissima Annunziata in Rubiera in early August, where objects used for worship were damaged. Another incident includes an attempted desecration, where perpetrators tried to break into the tabernacle of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the Bismantova district.
This is not the first instance of churches in the Diocese being targeted in criminal activity. In the report, the Diocese has recalled earlier incidents, including desecration of a Church in Campognola Church in 2025 (OIDAC, reported) and of the Church in Cà de Caroli in 2021 (OIDAC, reported), when the tabernacle was violated and consecrated hosts were scattered on the floor.
According to the Diocese, the repeated incidents have resulted in restrictions on church opening hours. Its statement expressed "bitterness" over the events which use the church for purposes "far removed from worship," undertaken to "outrage, desecrate, and steal objects of the historic and artistic heritage." The situation has then led to "restrictions on church access hours and, in any case, are causing alarm, profoundly affecting religious sentiment. Civil society is also affected." Despite the negative impact upon the diocese, the Vicar General, Monsignor Giovanni Rossi, writes: "We are called upon to be vigilant so that our Houses of Prayer are preserved as places that witness to prayer, both personal and collective, as an unarmed weapon of hope and charity."
The Diocese reported the various incidents to the judicial authorities through formal complaints.
Sources: gazzettadireggio, stampareggiana
Image:Wiki Commons
