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."