Miscellaneous
January 5
Joliet, IL – A large painting depicting the history of Jesus Christ, displayed for the Christmas season, was stolen from a home.
January 10
Wilkes-Barre, PA – A student of Kings College was found urinating on the Wilkes-Barre’s city nativity scene.
January 13
Tuscaloosa, AL – A statue of Jesus was stolen from the Catholic Social Services grounds. The statue, which cost $400, was the centerpiece of an Eagle Scout project that intended to revitalize the grounds.
January 14
Moulton, TX – Vandals broke desks, glass and cabinets in the youth ministry center, the parish hall, classrooms and offices at St. Joseph’s Church.
January 21
Victoria, TX – Vandals broke into church offices and pried open the office safe, pulled a copper cross from the church foyer, broke windows, and smashed office equipment at Holy Family Church.
March 13
Salt Lake City, UT – A bronze statue of St. Ambrose, valued at $30,000, was ripped from its concrete pedestal and stolen from St. Ambrose Church.
April 16
Cumberland, RI – Six bronze and brass bells, valued at over $100,000, were stolen from the Dormition of the Virgin March Church.
April 24
Charlotte, NC – The head and praying hands of a statue of the Virgin Mary were knocked off by vandals at St. Matthew Church.
May 2
Tinley Park, IL – For the second time in a year, a statue of Jesus was vandalized in front of Our Lady of Perpetual Help religious store. The vandals decapitated the statue and stole the head.
May 14
Galveston, TX – A statue of Jesus was stolen from the office of Catholic Charities.
May 16
Weymouth, MA – A 66-year-old statue of the Virgin Mary was decapitated and smashed into pieces outside of Immaculate Conception Church. The statue was placed in the church’s grotto to honor 16 men who were killed in World War II.
May 24
Maywood, CA – Vandals ransacked St. Rose of Lima parish school by writing “666” on the walls and sticking a knife in the face of a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The police said that the vandalism was consistent with a hate crime.
June 31
Boston, MA – A relic from the Cross that Christ was crucified on was stolen from the Holy Cross Cathedral. The holding case was pried open and the relic was stolen.
July 24
New Orleans, LA – St. John the Baptist Catholic Church suffered between $300,000 and $1 million worth of damage after vandals threw rocks through three vintage stained-glass windows.
August 1
Cincinnati, OH – Over a six week period vandals caused approximately $250,000 worth of damage to St. Joseph New Cemetery. The graves of several of the city’s first Roman Catholic bishops were damaged as well as more than thirty monuments.
August 3
Scranton, PA – A thief broke into the tabernacle of a Scranton church, stealing the Holy Eucharist.
August 14
Richmond, VA – Four silver chalices were stolen from St. Paul’s Catholic Church. The church estimated it would cost about $4,000 to replace them.
August 16
San Francisco, CA – The church bell from St. Michael’s Korean Catholic Church was stolen by an unidentified thief. The bell’s estimated worth was more than $400.
October 4
Boles Acres, NM – Three people were charged with vandalizing the Our Lady of the Desert Catholic Church. Among the damages were broken windows, destroyed pews, graffiti, and torn priest’s clothing. The damages amounted to more than $10,000.
October 8
Madison, NJ – A surveillance video showed five men destroying light fixtures, shrubs, tearing down signs, and destroying a mailbox at St. Paul Inside the Walls, a Catholic center in New Jersey.
October 31
Omaha, NE – A statue of the Virgin Mary that resides outside of Christ the King Church in Omaha fell victim to vandalism; the statue’s hands have been broken off. The estimated damage was upwards of $10,000.
November
Andalusia, AL – Two men were arrested for stealing sacramental wine, cash, and other valuable items from Christ the King Catholic Church. The men were charged, one count each, with third-degree burglary, third-degree theft of property and second-degree receiving stolen property.
December 19
La Marque, TX – A statue of Jesus at the only Roman Catholic Church in La Marque was vandalized. The statue was found marked with drawings and had slogans such as “Who dis?” written on it with spray paint. Church officials estimate the damages will be about $10,000 to repair.
December 23
Isle La Motte, VT – Two blue spruce trees, from St. Anne’s shrine, were victims of vandalism and cut down two days before Christmas.
