All cases
Vandalism of Catholic Academy and Church ahead of Award to Bishop Barron
July 27, 2025, GermanyIn the days leading up to the Josef‑Pieper Prize ceremony in Münster, vandals sprayed slogans on the Franz‑Hitze‑Haus academy and local church and defaced several Christian statues with red paint. State security has since launched an investigation.
Armed Robbery Attempted During Mass
July 27, 2025, ItalyA masked gunman stormed into the chapel of the Dominican Sisters' institute in Sant'Anastasia, near Naples, during Mass. He attempted to rob the congregation and fired a blank shot into the air.
Pro‑Palestinian Protesters Disrupt Mass at La Madeleine in Paris
July 26, 2025, FranceOn the evening of July 26, 2025, pro‑Palestinian activists entered La Madeleine church in Paris during Mass, shouting slogans about the conflict in Gaza, thus interrupting the liturgy. The rector of the church denounced the demonstration as a violation of sacred ritual, stating he intended to press charges.
Cross sawn up and corpus placed upside down
July 25, 2025, GermanyVandals sawed down a roughly two-metre-high cross outside a church in Bann, desecrated the figure of Christ, and urinated in the sacristy—prompting shock in the local community and an ongoing police investigation.
Historic Chapel in Limbiate Vandalized Overnight
July 25, 2025, ItalyVandals broke into the small chapel at Villa Pusterla in Mombello di Limbiate and destroyed interior fixtures, decapitating the statue of Saint Anthony. Officials confirmed the incident as intentional vandalism and urged improved security.
Arson attack on the Notre-Dame-des-Champs Church in Paris
July 24, 2025, FranceThe Church of Notre-Dame-des-Champs in Paris was closed to the public after two fires occurred within 48 hours on July 23 and 24, 2025. One of the fires was confirmed to be of criminal origin. Authorities launched an investigation while restoration has begun on the damaged interior.
Arson at Germany's Largest Wooden Church
July 20, 2025, GermanyA fire damaged the facade and roof truss of the Evangelical Marktkirche in Clausthal-Zellerfeld on the night of July 20, 2025, in what officials later determined to be arson.
Syrian Christian Asylum Seekers under Threat
July 15, 2025, NetherlandsIn a recent statement, the Interchurch Foundation warned that discrimination against Syrian Christians in Dutch asylum seeker centres had increased sharply over the past six months. For example, a Christian Syrian mother was threatened with death and told that her family would be targeted. Understandably, such threats have caused serious fear among Christian asylum seekers, some of whom are now hiding their religion to avoid being targeted.
Arson and Break-in: Repeated targeting of churches in Sierck-les-Bains
July 13, 2025, FranceOn the night of 13 July, the room adjoining the church in Sierck-les-Bains was vandalised. The white plastic door was completely destroyed. A week earlier, two teenagers had been arrested for setting fire to a chapel in the same municipality.
Church desecrated by excrement
July 13, 2025, FranceThe Arudy church was desecrated overnight on 13 July, with a large amount of faeces left inside and outside the building. The parish priest intends to file a complaint. He also found urine on the sacristy door and the tablecloth that usually covers the altar thrown over the stools.