A man entered St. Peter’s Basilica and urinated on the altar of Confession in front of hundreds of tourists and worshippers, marking the third act of desecration at the site in two years. According to some news reports, the incident happened during the celebration of mass.
Unknown individuals forcibly entered the Jesuit Church in Straubing, Germany, overturned pews and damaged interior grilles.
A 36-year-old Swiss man was arrested after allegedly setting fire to the Evangelical Reformed Church of St. Margaretha in Frenkendorf, Switzerland, damaging pews and interior structures.
After breaking into a Protestant church in Aldingen, Germany, unknown individuals urinated in the sanctuary and caused property damage when no valuables were found.
Two fake explosive devices triggered the evacuation of Vienna’s Karlskirche during a Catholic mass being held before the annual March for Life, raising concerns of targeted intimidation.
A 31-year-old man was arrested for spitting on a crucifix and attempting to damage the altar inside the Church of San José in Fuengirola, Spain, in an incident investigated as a hate crime and offense against religious sentiment.
Unkown individuals entered the Church of St. Margarita and caused extensive damage inside. The police issued a statement seeking for witnesses.
In the night between 28 and 29 September 2025, several Catholic church buildings in Munich were vandalised with white paint graffiti, including slogans such as “God is dead”.
Following a death threat on TikTok, the Tabernacle Church in Kempten moved its worship indoors, citing safety concerns and growing anti-Christian sentiment.
A disabled Iraqi Christian who fled ISIS persecution, was fatally stabbed in Lyon while livestreaming his religious testimony on TikTok, prompting outrage and calls for justice amid rising anti-Christian violence in France.
In the Trier Cathedral, a renaissance apostle statue was beheaded and its head stolen. The incident prompting an investigation and concern over preservation of religious heritage.
Unidentified vandals flooded the basement and defaced the entrance of Martini Church in Siegen on two consecutive nights, prompting a police investigation.
The historic Sant’Antonio al Seggio church in Aversa was vandalised with human excrement near its entrance, prompting public outrage and calls for stronger protection of churches.
A 20-year-old man has been arrested for attempting to start fires inside Notre-Dame church in Saint-Dizier. Thankfully, the organist was able to extinguish the fires before they could spread further. This is the fourth incident at the church in the last two years, raising safety concerns among the local community.
Due to escalating thefts and vandalism, the archpriest of Carini has decided to close all churches when no religious services are scheduled, sparking concern over the loss of sacred community spaces.
On 17 August 2025, a 21-year-old man broke into the Church of Santiago Apóstol in El Pozuelo, Albuñol (Granada), smashing a stained glass window with a hammer. He then proceeded to destroy religious artefacts and set fire to items belonging to the church before locking himself inside.
A suspected drug addict armed with a Swiss Army knife desecrated two churches near Paris, terrifying worshippers and resisting arrest.
Sweden’s Equality Ombudsman (DO) has ruled against a small Christian bakery in Stockholm who had declined to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in 2023. The decision, published on August 13, 2025, acknowledges that the bakery’s refusal was based on religious conviction and falls under the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Nevertheless, the authority concluded that the refusal constituted unlawful discrimination.
Just days before the Virgen del Carmen festivities in Rute, the parish of Santa Catalina was vandalised with black paint being spilled across its main entrance.
On July 29, a Catholic priest was attacked in his house. According to the mayor of Hubová, the attacker appeared at the parish house and assaulted the priest in the entrance hall with an electric cable. The priest sustained minor injuries to his face and legs, but managed to push the man outside, lock the door behind him and alert the police.