The Deacon's Bench
A chapel at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church was vandalized overnight, a day after parishioners joined other Christians in celebrating Easter.
The damage was discovered Monday by women arriving to prepare the Saint Damien chapel for morning mass.
“This morning, four of the ladies came and called me,” said the pastor, Father Robert Bunda. “They said ‘Father, the whole front door is trashed.’”
Bunda called police and went to the chapel, and found a mess.
“When I entered the chapel, it was devastated,” he said. “We have a big picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe torn down. The relic of St. Anthony was covered, and the candles ― everything was trashed.”
Flowers had been taken from their vases, ripped apart and thrown on the floor. The crucifix behind the altar had been desecrated.
“They trashed the holders for the candles and the flower sand they put them outside. And the little infant Jesus, they cut off the fingers and the hand.”
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