The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue has served as the St. Patrick’s Cathedral in El Paso, Texas welcoming center for almost a century. However, a horrifying incident occurred on September 15 the almost 90-year-old Sacred Heart of Jesus statue was destroyed.
With its statue left in ruins on the floor. It was revealed that an anti-Christian vandal attacked the El Paso church while the sanctuary was open to the public for an open prayer session. The group knocked on the statue of Jesus Christ and beheaded him.
However, anyone responsible for the attack has not yet been identified by the Police, and has no clue as to the attacker’s motivation either. But because some people have claimed that Christianity fosters white supremacy beliefs among Americans, the authorities now are looking into links to “white supremacy.”
El Paso’s Bishop Seitz shared his sadness over the damaged historic statue but remained thankful no one got hurt, in his Instagram post, the bishop wrote:
“As sad as I am to see a statue attacked and destroyed, I am grateful that it was not a living person,” Bishop Seitz said. “But a statue, particularly this statue, concretizes and connects us to persons and ideals that are not visible to our eyes.”
He added: “This statue is one of my favorite representations of Jesus—his arms open wide in welcome, his heart aflame with love for us. I would often take inspiration from this image as I prepared for Mass.”
Regarding the incident, the Diocese of El Paso also released a statement about the attack. The post included photos of the statue on the floor, knocked off its foundation, with its right arm broken off and most of the face, except for the jaw, smashed.
“We are saddened to announce the vandalism at St. Patrick Cathedral earlier today. The Cathedral was vandalized this morning at around 10:00 am. A suspect came into the sanctuary at St. Patrick Cathedral and destroyed the almost 90-year-old statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was located in the center behind the main altar of the church. The church was open and available for prayer. A suspect has been detained by the El Paso Police department. The police are currently continuing their investigation into the vandalism.” The cathedral wrote.
The Rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fr. Trini Fuentes also expressed his sorrow about the incident: “I am in shock and we at the Cathedral are heartbroken over such an unexpected situation,” he said.
“At this point we do not know anything about the person who carried out this assault, but he certainly must be a person who is greatly disturbed to have attacked this peaceful place in our city and this image of the King of Peace,” said Bishop Seitz.
“I am devastated at this irreplaceable loss as I know members of this parish community and the whole Church of El Paso will be. At this moment, we will reach out in confidence to the One this statue represented, and I know he will console us,” Bishop Seitz added.
However, the El Paso police department caught the suspect, and was brought into the El Paso County Detention Facility. The vandal, 30-year-old Isaiah Cantrell, has been charged with criminal mischief and marijuana possession.
Watch the video report below for more details:
Sources: AWM, Brcblog, Cruxnow