May 9, 2012 / 06:09 am
The parishioners of Holy Cross Church and the Diocese of Monterey, Calif. are “shocked and saddened” after a Sunday vandalism spree damaged irreplaceable items like a baptismal font that the famous missionary Bl. Junipero Serra brought to the area in 1791.
“The Diocese of Monterey is deeply saddened by the apparent hate crime committed against Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz last weekend,” diocese spokesman Deacon Warren Hoy told CNA May 8.
Damage affected the church, the attached Mission Santa Cruz Museum and the parish’s ministry and outreach building Siena House.
A custodian found the damage early May 6. Police arrived at the church before 7 a.m.