All cases
Deadly Knife Attack Against Ukrainian Priest inside the Church
January 2, 2023, UkraineOn the morning of January 2, in the Holy Virgin Church in Vinnytsia, an unknown man attacked the priest Anthony Kovtonyuk and cut him on the throat. The unidentified man had entered the church and started turning everything over, so the priest reprimanded him. Then, the perpetrator attacked the priest with his knife, as it was reported by the diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The police came to the scene and apprehended the attacker, who has been arrested. Father Anthony was taken to the emergency services later transferred to the intensive care unit in a Vinnitsia hospital.
Historical Church of St Peter and St Paul in Turin Defaced with Graffiti
January 2, 2023, ItalyThe Romanesque Church of Saints Peter and Paul located in Chianocco, Turin, has been spray painted by unknown vandals. The perpetrators painted inappropriate or obscene drawings and words on the stone wall of the old church. This was reported on the 2nd of January. In the next days, volunteers will come and help clean up the mess that was left behind. The police are investigating.
Cross stolen and vandalised in Deblin
January 2, 2023, PolandOn January 2, the police in Dęblin received a report of the theft of a wooden cross that was attached to the wall of one of the churches in Deblin. The police found that two young men, aged 21 and 23, residents of Dęblin, Lubelskie Voivodeship, had taken the cross attached to one of the churches and carried it around the city. They then damaged it, broke off the figure of Jesus, and abandoned it by one of the streets.
Physical attack on an altar boy
January 2, 2023, PolandOn 2 January 2023, in Witkowo, a man verbally and physically attacked one of the altar boys accompanying the priest during a pastoral visit.
Cemetery in Nîmes: 96 graves vandalised
January 2, 2023, France96 graves have been vandalised at the Saint-Césaire cemetery in Nîmes. On Monday 2 January, municipal employees observed the theft of bronze and other damage. The police are currently conducting an investigation.
Arson Attack on Lessay Abbey
January 2, 2023, FranceLessay Abbey was hit by an arson attack on 2 January, according to the mayor, Stéphanie Maubé, in a statement seen by BFM Normandie. Two fires broke out in the manger, which was made of wood, straw and a sheet of tarpaulin. The fire was quickly brought under control thanks to the intervention of a parishioner who entered the abbey ‘as the sheets were melting, causing thick smoke, and the straw was catching fire very quickly.
Three nativity scene figures stolen from Freigné chapel
January 2, 2023, FranceOn 2 January, three figures from the nativity scene in the Rosaire chapel in Freigné, France, have been stolen. The volunteers from the Bienheureux Noël Pinot parish are shocked.
Lutheran cemetery in Kozakowice Dolne vandalised
January 1, 2023, PolandOn January 1, the Lutheran cemetery in Kozakowice Dolne and a small church next to the cemetery, belonging to the Evangelical Augsburg Parish in Goleszów, were vandalised. The tombstones were knocked over, flowers and candles scattered. At the church the façade was damaged and windows were broken.
Statue of St. Florian in Lubawka beheaded
January 1, 2023, PolandOn the night of 31 December 2022 to 1 January 2023, three young people, a 17-year-old and two 15-year-olds, vandalised the statue of St Florian standing in the clearing at the beginning of the Way of the Cross in Lubawka. The head of the statue was cut off.
Facade of Church defaced with paper bombs by young vandals
December 31, 2022, ItalyIn the town of Marigliano, the facade of thee church The Lady Most Holy of Mount Carmel was vandalized with paper bombs by young vandals. The perpetrators ruined the facade and caused shock among the residents, who expressed their emotions and anger. The incident was filmed with smartphones and the images were shared on social networks.