Santiago, Chile, Aug 24, 2017 / 10:04 am
A religious congregation voiced sorrow and called for greater respect for faith after the iconic Church of National Gratitude in Santiago de Chile was hit with a firebomb attack by young people this week.
According to the Salesian Congregation in charge of administering the church, the incident occurred just a few minutes after the end of Mass on Aug. 22, around 8:05 a.m. A pair of youths entered through the church's central entrance. They had their faces covered and were wearing white, and threw Molotov cocktails against the inside wooden doors.
The sacristan and janitor of the Alameda Salesian school located on the side of the church became aware of the attack and immediately came with fire extinguishers, which prevented the doors from being totally consumed and the fire from spreading to the rest of the building.
The police arrived within a few minutes and helped secure the area.