A suspect has been taken into custody after a revered Catholic pilgrimage destination was vandalized and partly set ablaze, including the defacement of a Virgin Mary statue whose pedestal was marked with the phrase “Devil in a skirt” in black paint, according to reports.
Police in Bosnia arrested the man Tuesday following an overnight arson and vandalism incident at the Shrine of Our Lady in Medjugorje, Vatican News reported.
Officials have not publicly identified the suspect as investigators continue examining a possible motive and whether he may be linked to other disturbances reported at the shrine during the same night, the outlet said.
Police were called to the scene at about 4:30 a.m. on July 27 after the Virgin Mary statue on Apparition Hill, also known as Podbrdo, was discovered with black paint covering its face and hands. (Associated Press)
The initial police response came around 4:30 a.m. on July 27, when authorities were alerted that the statue of the Virgin Mary on Apparition Hill, or Podbrdo, had been smeared with black paint across the face and hands.
At the base of the statue, the English words “Devil in a skirt” had been spray-painted, while additional graffiti and dark paint were found on the statue’s hands.
Vatican News also reported that an outdoor altar near St. James Church was set on fire during the same episode.
Surveillance video from the area reportedly captured a man pouring what investigators suspect was gasoline over the altar before igniting it. The blaze was later put out.
Police were first called around 4:30 a.m. on July 27 after the face and hands of the statue of the Virgin Mary on Apparition Hill, also known as Podbrdo, were found covered in black paint. (Associated Press)
The two attacks came just days before Medjugorje’s annual youth prayer festival, which is expected to draw more than 50,000 pilgrims from around the world.
In a statement Tuesday, the Medjugorje Parish Office condemned the vandalism and urged Catholics to respond with “prayer, fasting, and forgiveness” rather than anger.
“It is with great sadness that we received the news of the act of vandalism,” the parish said.
Church officials also said cleanup and repairs began immediately so the damaged prayer sites could once again welcome pilgrims.
“The affected areas are being cleaned and restored as quickly as possible,” the parish said, thanking volunteers for helping preserve the shrine as “a place of encounter with God, a place of peace.”
Church officials also said cleanup and repairs began immediately so the damaged prayer sites could once again welcome pilgrims. (Associated Press)
Rather than calling for retribution, the parish urged the faithful to pray for those responsible.
“We pray for the conversion of the hearts of those who committed this act,” the statement said, asking that God “touch them with His grace and lead them on the path of goodness.”
The parish also appealed for peace, encouraging Catholics “not to return evil for evil,” but instead to bear witness through “love, forgiveness and hope.”
Despite the attack, officials said the shrine remains open, and its regular schedule of Mass and prayer services will continue as planned.
Located about 85 miles southwest of Sarajevo, Medjugorje became one of the world’s best-known Catholic pilgrimage destinations after six children and teenagers reported seeing apparitions of the Virgin Mary there in 1981.
The Vatican gave the green light for Catholics to continue flocking to Medjugorje offering its approval for devotion at one of the most contested sites of Roman Catholic practice in recent years, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
