All cases
Youth 'defecates in Spanish church, smears feces on statue, walls'
August 21, 2019, SpainPolice announced on August 21st that an 18-year-old man would be charged with defecating in a shrine to the Virgin Mary and then smearing his feces on a statue of Christ and on the walls of the church, Spanish news agencies report. The incident, caught on CCTV, took place on July 26 at the Santuario de la Virgen de la Fuensanta in the Jaén provincial town of Villanueva del Arzobispo.
Theft and Desecration at Oise Parish
August 9, 2019, FranceThe church of Saint-Éloi (parish of the Bienheureuses-Carmélites-de-Compiègne), diocese of Compiegne, Oise) was robbed, vandalized, and desecrated between the 3rd and 9th of August. Sound equipment, a ciborium, an aspergillum (a liturgical implement used to sprinkle holy water), holy water font, and other liturgical objects were stolen. The burglars forced open the tabernacle to steal the ciborium and stole consecrated hosts, as well. "The most essential thing for us is that the tabernacle was forced, and that the Blessed Sacrament, the presence of Christ was touched, stolen. Which is for us a desecration. The real presence of Christ has been stolen. It's something strong," said the communications director of the Oise diocese.
Liverpool Church Vandalized
August 4, 2019, United KingdomSix windows were smashed and mysterious graffiti reading "BEAST" was written on the wall of St. Oswald's Roman Catholic Presbytery in Old Swan (Liverpool). Police began an investigation.
Repeated Vandalism at Longford Church; Bishop Calls it "Profoundly Disrespectful"
August 2, 2019, IrelandIrish police Gardaí investigated an attempted burglary at the Catholic St. Michael's Church in Shroid, Longford Co. after a passerby reported broken windows to the parish house. Unknown perpetrators smashed a few plain glass windows and a stained glass window depicting the Sacred Heart which was over the altar of the church between July 28th and August 2nd.
Italian Church Vandalized with Excrement
August 1, 2019, ItalyDuring the early morning hours of August 1st, unknown perpetrators vandalized the church of Sant'Antonio in Crebbio, Abbadia Lariana. They smeared excrement on the front door, staircase, lawn, and the cobblestones outside the church. Volunteers immediately began cleaning the heavily soiled area and found a yellow bowl with some dung residue. The parish priest of Abbadia and the community expressed deep shock and outrage. Police opened an investigation.
Several Swastikas Painted on Oratory in Ireland
July 30, 2019, IrelandSeveral swastikas were spray-painted on the oratory and a cross in the Comeragh mountains overlooking Clonmel by unknown vandals sometime before July 30th. A team of volunteers of the Holy Year Cross Committee in Clonmel had come up to the site to prepare it for the annual August bank holiday Monday mass when they discovered the graffiti. Gardaí investigated the incident.
Arson at St. Magnus Church at Schussenried Abbey
July 29, 2019, GermanyAn unknown arsonist set fire to a cloth in the St. Magnus church of the Schussenried Abbey in Bad Schussenried on July 29th. The fire then extended to pictures and a wooden cross nearby. A witness noticed the fire and was able to extinguish it. Police are investigating.
Four Stations in Way of the Cross in Fatima Vandalized
July 26, 2019, PortugalFour of the 14 chapels of the Valinhos Way of the Cross or the Shepherd's Way in Fatima were vandalized with yellow spray paint during the night between July 25th and 26th. The unknown perpetrators sprayed the heads and intimate areas of the figures, along with obscene words. The Shrine of Fatima covered the chapels and will carry out the extensive cleaning work required to remove the paint.
Two Fires Intentionally Set in Autun Church
July 22, 2019, FranceAt 4:30 pm on July 22th, a parishioner noticed the smell of smoke emanating from the Notre-Dame church in Autun. When she entered the church, she discovered that two people were already there extinguishing the fire with their feet. The police reportedly found that there were two distinct fires set: one near the altar and the other near prayer chairs. An investigation is under way.
Graffiti on Church in Heiden
July 21, 2019, GermanyUnknown vandals vandalized large areas of St. Paulus Protestant Church's exterior in Heiden between July 21st and 22nd. They targeted a park bench, the church wall, six windows, and the surrounding bricks.
Man Arrested for Defacing more than 80 Graves with "666" in Church Cemetery
July 21, 2019, DenmarkA 46-year-old man was charged with spray-painting the number ‘666’ on 87 tombstones in a church cemetery in North Jutland, Denmark. Staff from the Hadsund Church noticed the damage on Sunday morning, July 21st. After an investigation, the man was arrested on July 24th after witnesses came forward. The man, who had been convicted of similar vandalism of a cemetery in 2016, denied responsibility for this incident.
Arson Suspected in Hyvinkää Old Church
July 19, 2019, FinlandIn the early hours of July 19th, a passer-by notified the fire department that the warehouse of the Old Church in Hyvinkää was in flames and the church building itself was also on fire. Due to the results of the preliminary investigation, the chief inspector suspected the fire was set intentionally and opened an arson investigation. The wooden church itself remained mostly intact, however, the storage facility housing gardening tools was completely destroyed by the fire.
Church and Chapel Vandalized in Quimper Diocese
July 14, 2019, FranceDuring Sunday Mass on the 14 of July, parishioners learned of vandalism in both the church and chapel of the Saint-Mathieu parish in Pays d'Iroise (diocese of Quimper, Finistère). In the church of Saint-Budoc à Porspoder damage included a vandalized offertory box, cigarettes left in front of the altar of the Blessed Virgin, the door of the sacristy obstructed by the insertion of gravel in the lock, and vomit in the holy water stoups. In the Chapelle Saint-Samson à Landunvez, the most photographed chapel in France, an offertory box was vandalized and a cross thrown in the trash.
Paris: Vandalism in 13th Arrondissement Church
July 11, 2019, FranceAn unknown person intentionally set off the alarm in the church of Saint-Hippolyte in Paris around 9:30 am on July 11th and once the church was evacuated, took the opportunity to vandalize the payment terminals for church contributions (Denier de l’Église). As a result, the church restricted its opening hours to afternoons in July and August.
Two Suspicious Fires in Four Days in Bourg-Achard Church
July 2, 2019, FranceBetween June 26th and June 30th, two fires were discovered in the 13th century église Saint-Lô in Bourg-Achard (Eure). According to the police in charge of the investigation, there is a high probability that these two fires were deliberately set.
Vandals Destroy Shrine Outside Church on Pentecost
June 9, 2019, GermanyUnidentified vandals targeted the St. Josef Catholic Church in Ebingen, Albstadt during the night of June 9th (Whitsunday to Whitmonday). They damaged the shrine outside the church by smashing the glass pane, tore down flowerpots, and destroyed candles. They also smashed the mirror glass in the bathroom which is accessible from the outside with a rock. Property damage amounts to about 100 euros.
Persistent Vandalism of Church in Dierdorf
June 6, 2019, GermanyThe Protestant Church in Dierdorf im Westerwald has been a target for vandalism for nearly two years. Reports beginning in July 2017 indicate that vandals have smashed windows, burned feminine hygiene products stuck to a wall to damage wall plaster, left graffiti on the walls and doors, knocked over park benches, and littered the area around the church every week. Property damage has reached tens of thousands of euros. The congregation is frustrated and horrified.
Statue of Parisian School's Patron Saint Smashed
June 4, 2019, FranceOn June 4th, the statue of Archangel Saint-Michel was found smashed into pieces on the grounds of the lycée-collège Saint-Michel de Picpus, a Catholic secondary school in Paris. Unknown vandals also heavily tagged the school's main entrance. The school had installed the statue of its the patron saint outside the school building after a dedication ceremony at the beginning of the school year. On June 4th the statue
Arson Suspected in Ankum Catholic Church Fire
June 1, 2019, GermanyThe fire department in Ankum was called to a smoldering fire in the St. Nikolaus Catholic Church around noon on June 1st. When the team of 33 firefighters in six firetrucks arrived, the Swedish visitors who had initially discovered the two spots of smoldering fire in the church, had already extinguished them out with water. According to police, the church wasn't damaged by the fire and the fire department only had to inspect the site and quickly gave the all-clear. Police suspect arson and began their investigation with the help of the Swedish visitors describing two girls running out of the church just before they themselves entered and the church's surveillance video tapes.
Robbery from Esslingen Church
May 31, 2019, GermanyBetween May 29th and 31st, several unknown perpetrators broke into the Osterfeld Protestant Church in Berkheim, Esslingen. They entered by climbing the porch roof and, once inside, stole three game consoles and eight controllers from the youth room as well as one digital and one SLR camera from a storage room. The value of the stolen goods was estimated at around 1,000 euros and the property damage amounted to around 2,000 euros.