Vandal kisses century-old religious statue twice, then smashes it, New York police say

Nearly 20 worshipers gathered at the foot of a statue outside of a historic New York church after two sculptures were attacked by a vandal.

“Our faith is not just up here in the statue. It is deep down,” the Rev. Liju Augustine, the pastor of St. Therese of Lisieux R.C. in Brooklyn, said as he led the group in the prayer of Saint Michael, a Catholic prayer of protection against wickedness.

The two statues — one of the Virgin Mary and one of the church’s namesake — were broken by a vandal before dawn on Tuesday, Oct. 22, the church said in an Oct. 24 Facebook post.

The unknown person used a brick to break the hand and the snake head of one of the statues and a cross on another statue, the New York Police Department told McClatchy News.

But security footage shared with WABC shows the man doing something unusual before the attack. The video shows the vandal entering the garden, climbing on the Virgin Mary statue and kissing it twice before shattering it.

Kissing statues of saints is a practice sometimes seen in the Catholic faith. It represents “love and respect for the living Saint that statue represents in Heaven,” according to the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Still, Augustine said he’s “saddened” by the act because of the statue’s nearly 100-year-old history , the New York Post reported. Augustine said the statue was erected when the church was founded in 1926.

“They have a great history connected with the statue,” Augustine said. “It is their faith, it is our faith, and our faith should not get hurt.”

The NYPD said its Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident.

“We will continue to be strong in our faith and devotion to our Lord, our Blessed Lady, and our Patroness, St. Therese,” the church said in its post.

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