A plot to bomb Cologne's Catholic cathedral has been uncovered by police. "The attack was to have been carried out with a car packed with explosives," the local media announced. As a result of the plot, five men were arrested between 26 and 31 December, all of them allegedly linked to Islamic extremists. The Cologne police spokesman said that the police would maintain security at the cathedral.
Between 1 and 2 January, the Jastrzębie-Zdrój Municipal Police Station received a report concerning devastation of a nativity scene. Four figurines were damaged and another two figurines were stolen and then destroyed by smashing, officers said.
In the church of Saint-Etienne de Faux-la-Montagne, the figure of the Christ Child was stolen from the crib of the nativity scene. The theft was discovered by the parish priest on 2 January.
Every year dozens of nativity scenes are set up along the Via dei Presepi. This Christmas, one of them was found with eight out of ten human figures decapitated, as it was reported by the police on January 2nd. The figures of the animals were also damaged. The incident has been described as a "sacrilegious surgical act". This event was also communicated on social media by the councillor, Susi Giglioli.
Fire was set to St John the Evangelist church in Enfield. Forty firefighters were needed to extinguish the fire. It has been confirmed by the police that this was an arson attack. The fire started by the high altar and damaged stained-glass windows and artefacts.
On January 1st, unknown vandals smashed the statue of the Child Jesus in Gorla Maggiore, Italy, in broad daylight. Mayor Pietro Zappamiglio expressed "great sadness and bitterness at what has happened." It is hoped that the vandals were caught on church cameras.
On New Year's Day, a man stole money from a church in Sopot, Poland. During the robbery he broke a valuable figure worth more than 1,000 PLN.
25 windows of St John's Church in Salzhausen were damaged by vandals at the beginning of January. Unknown persons had smashed the windows with fist-sized rocks and caused damage of 42,000 euros.
Sacred objects were stolen from the chapel of the Apostles of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Kassel, Germany, on 31 December, according to police. The thieves also caused damage to the church. The identity of the burglars is unknown and the police are still looking for witnesses.
It was reported that on New Year's Eve, unknown perpetrators vandalised the nativity scene of the parish church of San Quintino in Alliste, targeting the statue of the infant Jesus. The parish priest commented: "An outburst by our children that should make us reflect".
On January 4, a nativity scene was vandalised with blue paint outside the parish church of Großenbach-Hünfeld, Germany. The local community is shocked about the incident.
On the night of 31 December to 1 January, unknown perpetrators destroyed a statue of St John of Nepomuk on Odmętowa Street in Kraków. This is the second such incident in a short period of time. A similar incident occurred in April 2023, just before Easter.
Between 30 and 31 December, three churches in Bauska were broken into. As the locks were broken, there was material damage in addition to the stolen goods.
The figure of the Infant Jesus has been stolen from the nativity scene in the Church of Christ in Niebull, Germany. The caretaker of the nativity scene, Ursula Mast-Christiansen, is appealing for the baby Jesus to be returned immediately.
In the night from December 31 to January 1, unknown perpetrators have damaged the stations of the Via Crucis, defacing them and committing severe vandalism. According to the councilor of the Municipality of Pinzolo, Luca Vidi, the statue of Christ was stolen from the first of the stations of the cross. Other stations have been defaced with "unrepeatable slogans" against "the Church, Christianity and the Pope". "Some people are not educated as they should be, and there is no respect for the common heritage, ignoring the fact that it was created with everyone's efforts," the councillor commented.
On New Year's Eve a newly restored statue of Mary has been vandalised for the second time in Dunavecse, Hungary. Unknown perpetrators smashed the head of the statue and trampled its pieces.
On New Year's Eve, vandals destroyed the nativity scene in Campogalliano, Italy. The crib was built by local volunteers. Unknown vandals destroyed the figures and also damaged a nearby bus station.
A statue of the infant Jesus of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie was found destroyed on New Year's Eve. The figure was found with its arm and head cut off. The head is still missing. The village, which has only 198 inhabitants, is wondering who could have done such a thing.
As it was reported at the end of December 2023, the nativity scene in Piazza della Repubblica in Monfalcone, Italy, has been attacked. The statuette of baby Jesus was found decapitated and smashed to pieces. The police are investigating. The mayor, Anna Maria Christi, said that everything is being done to find those responsible.
170 incidents of cemetery vandalism and thefts were recorded for the region of Berlin in 2023. These are the numbers the German Senate Department for the Interior and Sport published on July 29, 2024, responding to a parliamentary enquiry.