Two separate incidents of desecration have disturbed a Staten Island parish, the latest in a string of vandalism incidents in the New York area. 

On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 1, Father Patrick Anthony discovered that the hands of a century-old marble statue of Christ had been broken off and were missing, Sacred Heart Church of Castleton Avenue said in a statement.

The following day, Father Rhey Garcia, Sacred Heart’s pastor, and other members of the parish found a statue of Saint Francis in the church’s 9/11 remembrance garden had been decapitated. The missing piece was later found and is being repaired by a parishioner, according to Deacon Jim Cowan, in a telephone interview with The Good Newsroom.

Both the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Staten Island’s Office of the District Attorney were notified. The NYPD is investigating.

The parish’s security cameras were not aimed in either statue’s direction and did not capture any footage related to the vandalism incidents, Deacon Cowan said. Four nearby Christian houses of worship, along with a United States Post Office and a branch of the New York Public Library were not unaffected, he said. He described the church’s surroundings as a “quiet residential area” with no recent or long-term history of vandalism or similar acts.

“We, the community of Sacred Heart Church, strongly condemn this reprehensible act. Whether it is an act of mere vandalism or a hate crime, we are deeply saddened by the desecration of our sacred images, which hold profound significance in our faith,” Father Garcia, Deacon Cowan, and the parish council said in a statement. 

“The parish is outraged. The parish will be 150 years old in 2025,” Deacon Cowan said.

The Staten Island incidents are the latest in a string of vandalism acts to affect New York area Catholic churches since last fall.  They include:

•  In July, a man was caught spray painting a statue of Mary at Resurrection Church in the Gerritsen Beach section of Brooklyn. He was later arrested.
• Also in July, the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine at Our Lady of Rosary Church in Lower Manhattan was vandalized
• On June 5, a man entered St. Joseph Church in Astoria, Queens, broke open the tabernacle, removed the holy Eucharist stored inside it, and carelessly tossed it around. He too was later arrested.
• In February, an emotionally disturbed man defiled the altar of the Church of the Assumption in Peekskill after bothering parishioners in earlier incidents.
• In October 2022, a man threw a wrench through a window at the entrance to Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s residence in Manhattan, shattering the glass in the door, causing damage but no injuries.