Church in Wijchen targeted with theft, arson and vandalism
On 15 September, two statues of Mary were badly damaged and personal belongings and devotional objects were set on fire in the St Anthony Abbot Church in Wijchen, Gelderland, both in the Marian Chapel and in the nearby Lourdes Grotto.
The wooden statue of Mary from the chapel, the candles and the rosaries were set on fire. The Marian chapel is temporarily closed.
In the Lourdes grotto in the church garden, the damage was extensive. Personal belongings were lost, and the statue of Mary was destroyed. The grotto had only been open for a month.“The statue of Mary from the cave is made of stone and we found some pieces of it here and there,” says priest Frits Hendriks. Of the wooden statue of Mary that stood in the chapel, only the head and torso remain. Charred, but still relatively intact.
The shock is also great among the local residents. “People wonder why this is happening."
Just few days before there were 2 simmilar incidents happening in the region: on September 7, there was a triple vandalism of the Marian chapel in Gennep and on Spetember 13, the Willibrordus church in Mill was vandalised.
UPDATE: Nijmegen woman (38) arrested on suspicion of vandalism and arson on two statues of the Virgin Mary at the Antonius Abbot church in Wijchen.
Source: kn, Wijchen Nieuws