Rome Newsroom, Nov 20, 2020 / 12:00 pm
Christ the King parish in Gothenburg, Sweden, is holding a day of penance and fasting Friday in reparation for the vandalism of their church.
Fr. Tobias Unnerstål told CNA that the church was planning a Mass of Reparation on the night of Nov. 20. While police continued their investigation into who was behind the vandalism, he said that his Catholic community had focused instead on praying for the unknown perpetrator.
"Everyone says 'let us pray for the perpetrator or perpetrators' and also make penance for the fact that sacrilege has been committed in the Church, which is an attack on Christ himself," Unnerstål said.
On Friday, Nov. 13, the priest arrived at his church to find that the pulpit had been overturned and the altar completely stripped. Hymnals were cleared from the shelves and chairs had been thrown off the sanctuary. A fire extinguisher had been emptied over the votive candles, and a wreath and plaque with a commemoration of those who died this year were also vandalized.