Vandals desecrated three statues of saints with black spray paint in a two-week time period in Sacramento, California, according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA).
Two parishes in the Diocese of Sacramento have been victims of the vandalism in the past two weeks, CNA reported Tuesday. Statues of the Blessed Mother, St. John and St. Mary Magdalene at the crucifixion were vandalized with black spray paint covering the eyes at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church on the weekend of April 17-18.
Duke Sancho, a parishioner of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, told CNA that pastor Fr. Jonathan Molina and a parish men’s fraternity arranged a project to clean the statues.
Another statue of the Blessed Mother was vandalized with black spray paint at Saint John Vianney parish in Rancho Cordova, California. A parishioner tweeted a photo of the statue defaced with black spray paint covering the face, hands and feet.
Our statue of the Blessed Mother was vandalized last night. Prayers plz ???????????? pic.twitter.com/EERbtzWPnZ
— Derek (@derek4812) April 25, 2021
The parishioner later wrote that the graffiti was cleaned off of the statue with a slight stain.
“Took some time,” he tweeted. “The chemical messed with the rock a little so you can see some changes to the rock where the paint was, but overall it’s cleaned up.” He also reported that a group of parishioners prayed the Rosary after Mass in reparation for the desecration. (RELATED: Man Caught On Video Destroying Statue Of Virgin Of Guadalupe At New York Catholic Church)
“The statues have already been restored,” the diocese told CNA on Monday. “We pray for any one who would be moved to cause damage to any symbol of faith.”