The statue of Our Lady of Fatima, located near the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the United States, was cut off by a man and used a hammer to break his nose, scratch his face, and remove his crucifix. Sky.
On December 8, 2021, a spokesman for the shrine said that security cameras showed that, at around 10:45 p.m. on Sunday, December 5, 2021, a masked person climbed a fence with a holster. around the rosary walkway and garden, where the Carrara marble statue of Our Lady is located, and the dismembered arm of the statue of Mary; This person also used a hammer to break the nose of the statue, as well as remove the Cross from the crown on the head of the statue of Our Lady. When he left, he took the statue's hand with him. The incident was discovered on Monday morning, December 6, when security personnel came to open the temple door.
The statue of Our Lady of Fatima and its surrounding garden was completed in 2017, the 100th anniversary of the apparition of Mary to three shepherd children in a field near Fatima, Portugal.
Pray for the culprit
Monsignor Walter Rossi, rector of the shrine, said the authorities had been contacted and "although we are deeply saddened by this incident, we pray for the perpetrator through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary." under the name of Our Lady of Fatima".
Attacks targeting Catholic sites
The attack on the statue of Our Lady is one of the latest in attacks targeting Catholic sites. On October 14, 2021, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said there have been 100 reported vandalisms at Catholic sites in the United States since May 2020 until then.
Society is in dire need of God's grace
At the time, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Religious Freedom and Domestic Justice in the United States, condemned "those acts of hatred,” but emphasizes the importance of reaching out to perpetrators with prayer and forgiveness. There is still a lot we don't know about this phenomenon, they said, but at a minimum they highlight that our society is in dire need of God's grace. They also call on the nation's elected officials to commit to condemning these attacks."
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