Just days before the start of Holy Week, the NYPD is investigating two recent incidents of vandalism at churches in Queens as hate crimes.
Long Island City church statue defaced
The statue of St. Francis of Assisi in front of St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church still had traces of blue paint on it Wednesday after being defaced early Saturday morning.
Police said an arrow was spray painted on the statue’s pedestal — coming from the word “pagan” painted on the sidewalk.Â
The statue of St. Francis of Assisi in front of St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church was recently vandalized.
CBS News New York
Pastor Felix Sanchez said he still wants parishioners to see the church, which has been part of the Long Island City community for 125 years, as a place of solace.
“I am more worried about the people not feeling free to express their faith,” Sanchez said.
Far Rockaway church statue knocked over
A week before, the Statue of the Blessed Mother in front of St. Gertrude’s Roman Catholic Church in Far Rockaway was knocked over.
The church’s pastor was unavailable Thursday, but said in a statement the Diocese of Brooklyn said the 100-year-old statue has been vandalized three times in the past five months and cannot be fixed this time. The pastor called the vandalism just before Holy Week “especially troubling,” and added the parish will have to get a new statue.
“That’s really sad. I don’t know what’s going on in this world,” Roosevelt Island resident Anne Long said.
“Why would somebody do something like that?” Â
Anthony Torre owns Central Collision across the street from St. Rita’s and has attended mass there. He said he helped power wash most of the spray paint off the statue.
“I opened up the door, looked across the street, and saw the blue paint. [I was] mortified. Why would somebody do something like that?” Torre said.
The next step is to give the statue a fresh coat of concrete paint and to put its plaque back on, tasks Torre said he is working on. The goal is to get it all done by Monday, just in time for the start of Holy Week.
As for whoever is responsible for the vandalism, Father Sanchez sent out a message of peace.
“In the mentality of dialogue and understanding, you are welcome. You are welcome. And we are going to keep going on in our faith,” he said.