Unknown vandals destroy altar of Catholic chapel in Bari
Vandals destroyed the altar, smashed a statue of the Mother of God, and stole church vessels from a Catholic chapel.
In the Italian city of Bari, vandals ransacked the altar of a cemetery chapel on the eve of its patronal feast. This was reported by Telenorba.
In the morning, parish clergy of the Santo Spirito district came to the cemetery to serve a memorial service for deceased parishioners and discovered signs of the attack. The perpetrators completely destroyed the altar and smashed a statue of the Mother of God. Thieves took an empty tabernacle and priestly vestments from the chapel.
The parish rectors called the act a despicable deed. The rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Don Fabio Campione, the rector of the Church of Saint Nicholas, Don Tommaso Gengi, and the rector of the parish of the Nativity of the Mother of God, Don Gianni De Robertis, published a joint statement online.
The clergy emphasized in their address that this incident caused deep pain to the entire community during the festive days. At the same time, they expressed firm faith in the victory of hope over violence and promised to celebrate the feast with particular devotion.
As the SPJ reported, vandals beheaded a statue of the Mother of God on the Italian island of Ischia.
