The New York Catholic Churches that have recently been vandalized are not alone. Across the country in the past two months, statues of Mary have been attacked in Washington and Nebraska. In Philadelphia, stained glass windows were broken at one church and outdoor Nativity scene statues were toppled and broken at another.
An act of vandalism disrupted a late-night Portuguese prayer service for a handful of faithful at St. Rita Catholic Church on Feb. 9. A traffic cone was thrown at the stained glass window, destroying a part of the church that the pastor said is worth $10,000.
For the second time in as many weekends there was an attack against a Catholic church in New York City.
On Saturday, July 8, parishioners at Resurrection Church in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn, caught a man spray painting a statue of Mary and handed him over to police, diocese officials said.
The man suspected of desecrating St. Joseph Church in Astoria a month ago was arrested Saturday, July 8 after returning to the parish and acting erratically. Also on Saturday, parishioners at Resurrection Church in Gerritsen Beach caught a man spray painting a new statue of Mary. They handed him over to police.
A 21-year-old man who appeared to be emotionally disturbed entered St. Joseph Church in Astoria on June 5, broke open the tabernacle, removed the holy Eucharist stored inside it, and carelessly tossed it around, church officials said.
Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a pair of suspects who vandalized Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens headquarters earlier this month by throwing a brick through the glass door of the organization’s offices.
The NYPD is looking for three teenagers after they destroyed a statue of an angel outside a church on March 23.
More than 275 attacks on Catholic churches have taken place since 2020 according to a report updated Jan. 26 by CatholicVote, a political action group based in Wisconsin.
Vandals struck twice at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church on the night of Jan. 5, ransacking the creche.
