El Carmelo Retreat House - Discalced Carmelite Friars / Facebook
CV NEWS FEED // A vandal entered a Catholic retreat chapel, destroyed three statues, and terrorized a praying woman this month in California.
According to Redlands Daily Facts, there is an ongoing investigation, and police estimate that the vandal caused $20,000 in damage at El Carmelo Retreat House in Redlands, California.
A woman who works in the gift shop, Marie Marino, suspects that it was a hate crime. However, the police said there is no evidence of that yet.
“Everyone is really disturbed because it’s quiet here,” Marino said. “Everyone who comes here is family.”
She said that the man entered the chapel at 10 a.m. Dec. 6, complaining about Jesus. Lolita Azhocar, who works in the retreat center’s office, added that he threw statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mary holding Jesus, and St. Miriam toward the altar.
Azhocar said that the man terrified a woman who was praying so much that she froze in place, and then he threw a potted plant at her.
“It saddens us to know there are people out there who are hurting and they take it out on us,” Azhocar said.
Anti-Catholic violence has skyrocketed since 2020, with nearly 500 attacks occurring in four years, as CatholicVote’s violence tracker indicates.
