Vandals kicked in the
basement door of the rectory to break into Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
Church for the second time this year, smashing statues and glass doors
and spraying a fire extinguisher throughout the chapel.
The intruders
left behind blood stains, fingerprints and a cellphone, police said.
When Father Christopher Gray arrived at 8:25 a.m., to prepare for the
Sunday liturgy, he saw people standing outside, some weeping, and police
cars all around.
"Things were not looking good," he said.
The pastor,
Father Javier Virgen, was on vacation.
Inside the church, Father Gray
found smashed benches and beer in the holy water font, but he was
relieved that the tabernacle, containing the consecrated Eucharist, was
locked.
The 9 a.m. Mass was canceled to allow police to finish their
investigation.
Although parishioners were "somewhat rattled," said
Father Gray, "they wanted to start cleaning what they could without
interfering with the crime scene."