Nine Statues of the Virgin Mary Attacked in Less than Four Hours in Pyrenees
On the morning of January 9th, in the space of 45 minutes, five statues of the Virgin Mary, located in three different churches of Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques): Saint-Martin, Saint-Jacques and Notre-Dame, were destroyed. Similar vandalism continued in the churches of the Béarn communes of Lons, Artix, Denguin, and Mourenx, where, each time, a statue of the Virgin was destroyed. A 35-year-old man, described as homeless, was arrested in Mourenx at the end of the day and sent for psychiatric evaluation.
Sources: Sud Ouest, La Croix, and La Rép des Pyrénees
Photo: Abbé Jean-Jacques Dufau curé de la paroisse du Christ-Sauveur