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The 90-year-old Sacred Heart of Jesus statue inside of a Texas cathedral was destroyed by vandalism, says church leaders.
The El Paso Police Department is investigating a case of vandalism after the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue was destroyed inside of a Texas cathedral. A suspect has been detained, and authorities identified him as Isaiah Cantrell, 30 of El Paso.
Cantrell has been charged with possession of marijuana and criminal mischief, according to the El Paso Times. The vandalism took place around 10 am Tuesday at St. Patrick Cathedral. The church was open at the time for prayer.
As a result, church leaders were left in shock after what happened.
“I am in shock and we at the cathedral are heartbroken over such an unexpected situation,” said Rev. Trini Fuentes, the rector of St. Patrick.
Bishop Mark J. Seitz spoke out, saying, “This statue is one of my favorite representations of Jesus. His arms wide open in welcome, his heart aflame with love for us. I would often take inspiration from this image as I prepared for Mass.”
“As sad as I am to see a statue attacked and destroyed, I am grateful that it was not a living person,” Seitz added. “But a statue, particularly this statue, concretizes and connects us to persons and ideals that are not visible to our eyes. They reveal to us realities that are close to us, but unseen.”
Cantrell was booked into the El Paso County jail on bonds that total more than $20,500.
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Following what happened, the bishop says that he will pray for the person who vandalized the statue.
“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. I hope this might be the impetus for him to receive the help he needs. He will be in my prayers,” said Seitz.
Despite the destruction, churches will still be made available for prayer, said Fernando Ceniceros, a spokesperson for the diocese. Churches in El Paso have seen a rash of vandalism over the past year.
“We are still leaving the parishes open for prayer,” said Ceniceros. “We believe the opportunity for people to have prayer, especially in our sanctuaries, is essential to who we are as Catholics.”
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In other news, a top health department official is now on medical leave after posting a bizarre Facebook rant. Surprisingly, the rant had nothing to do with Botox injection, price of treatments, or similar.
