Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 16, 2020 / 11:35 am America/Denver (CNA).
A vandal destroyed a statue of Jesus at St. Patrick Cathedral in El Paso, Texas on Tuesday, the latest in an ongoing series of attacks on churches across the United States.
According to the diocese, someone entered the sanctuary of St. Patrick’s Cathedral Tuesday morning and destroyed a century-old statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The statue had been placed behind the main altar of the church, which was open for prayer at the time of the vandalism.
According to the diocese, the statue is an “irreplaceable loss” and cannot be repaired.
“This statue is one of my favorite representations of Jesus—his arms open wide in welcome, his heart aflame with love for us. I would often take inspiration from this image as I prepared for Mass,” said Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso in a statement by the diocese. Seitz added that he was glad, however, that nobody was hurt by the vandal.