A man has been filmed attacking a Catholic Church in Turin, Italy.
In a video posted to social media on Thursday, a man can be seen throwing a heavy cobblestone at the door of a Catholic church in Turin, Italy, smashing several of its glass panels.
During the episode, which Italian media alleges took place yesterday August 17, music can be heard from inside the Chiesa di Santa Cristina in Turin.
Outside the historic church, a man appears to rant against the faithful present inside, yelling broken sentences in Italian, including the words: “Cristiani di m…” (“Christians of m … “), as concerned passers-by look on, with several appearing to film the attack on smartphones.
Shortly after the episode, the clip went viral on social media receiving over 15,000 likes on the WelcomeToFavelas4K Instagram page.
The admin of the profile, which boasts over 830,000 followers, told The Catholic Herald: “Whoever sent the video wants to remain anonymous and has entrusted the content to us.”
It is unclear whether any arrests have taken place following the incident.
Together with its nearby “twin” church of San Carlo, Santa Cristina is located in Turin’s fashionable Piazza San Carlo, named after Counter-Reformation Saint Charles Borromeo who served as Archbishop in nearby Milan.
It was built by Carlo di Castellamonte in 1639 for the order of the Discalced Carmelites, who had arrived in Turin at the behest of Maria Cristina of France a few years earlier.
The eighteenth-century facade, designed by Sicilian architect Filippo Juvarra, is decorated with figures of saints and allegories of the virtues, while the decorations inside have been modified over time.
This latest assault comes as the number of attacks on Christians and church property in Europe have increased, having soared by 70 per cent between 2019 and 2020.
There has been a wave of arson attacks on church properties in France and Germany, with France losing one religious building every fortnight in 2021.
In 2019, the European Parliament called on European Union institutions to “step up their commitment to religious freedom” by enhancing security for faith communities.