Earlier this month, a Catholic Church in El Paso, Texas, was vandalized. Multiple windows and doors were broken and a small fire was set inside the church, which set off a fire alarm that alerted emergency response.
“St. Thomas did have an alarm system that did go off that alerted the fire department to come to the facility to address the problem,” Fernando Ceniseros, a spokesman for El Paso’s Catholic diocese, told KVIA shortly after the attack.
Father Ed Roden-Lucero, the pastor for the vandalized church, told KVIA on Monday that a bible was also set on fire, satanic symbols were painted around the church, and two crosses were turned upside down. He said the damage done to the church, St. Thomas Aquinas, was estimated to be $75,000 according to their insurance company.
“A bible was set on fire on a chair but was not completely consumed,” the pastor told the outlet. “A second fire was started on a table that apparently was set to intentionally burn a large framed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The fire badly damaged the picture and did considerable damage to the wall.”
When the attack first occurred, the FBI said it was too early to say this fire was connected to the three other cases of Catholic churches being vandalized earlier this year. Fr. Roden-Lucero says the FBI told him the attack on his church is now being investigated as a hate crime.
In May and June, three Catholic churches in west El Paso – St. Matthew Catholic Church, St. Patrick Cathedral, and St. Jude Catholic Church – were all attacked with “incendiary devices,” KVIA reported. In September, the FBI offered a $15,000 reward for information on the culprits.
“Every lead will be thoroughly investigated,” the FBI said at the time. “Regardless of how insignificant you think your information might be, we strongly encourage you to come forward and welcome your information and assistance.”
KVIA reported that “vandals broke into the church around 2 a.m. on Dec. 6 after using what Fr. Roden-Lucero described as large, heavy stones from the church landscaping to smash windows at the entrance to the gathering area, the parish main office and the bookkeeping office – which he said was ransacked before a pair of small fires were set.”
Parishioners and the community offered support to the church, Fr. Roden-Lucero said.
“Parishioners have mostly expressed sadness that someone would do such a thing to a parish that is known for its hospitality and service to the poor,” he said. “Every Sunday we pray for personal conversion as well as for the conversion of those, like the perpetrators of the crimes committed here, who are filled with anger, hate or prejudice.”
KVIA spoke to one parishioner at the time of the attack who were shocked something like this could happen, but remained resolute.
“To whoever did it we are not afraid of you, we will continue to come here to worship god and we will continue praying for those who did it,” the parishioner said.
No one was injured in any of the El Paso church attacks this year.