Religious items destroyed at parish in Spain

Madrid, Spain, May 10, 2011 / 16:13 pm

A 35-year-old man was arrested after entering a Catholic church in Spain and destroying a number of statues and religious objects.

Officials said the man entered the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption in Navalcarnero at 8:30 a.m. on May 8. He proceeded to destroy several religious works of art.

The pastor, Father Fermin Marcos, and a religious sister who works at the parish, tried to reason with the man, but after numerous attempts they called the police.

Within minutes officers arrived and detained the suspect.

The religious objects destroyed were made of plaster and had belonged to the parish since the 1930s.

“Their value is more sentimental than economic,” Fr. Marcos said. One object was a statue of St. Isidore the Farmer, which was going to be used in a procession this coming weekend.

Navalcarnero’s mayor, Baltasar Santos, regretted the incident, calling it “terrible and very serious.”

“Attacking religious images is not only against the faith of persons and the tradition of a people, it is also against the historical-artistic patrimony of the municipality, which we are trying so hard to preserve for present and future generations,” he said.

The parish of Our Lady of the Assumption is the oldest historical site in the town. Its architecture is the result of 500 years of history that includes reforms, renovations, collapses and reconstruction.