Halifax churches defaced with offensive graffiti

A number of Halifax churchgoers were greeted with some shocking vandalism on their way to Easter mass on Sunday.

At least two Catholic parishes were hit with graffiti overnight on Saturday — vandals spray-painted the front doors of both St. Benedict Church on Radcliffe Drive in Clayton Park and St. Agnes Church on Mumford Road.

St. Agnes’s Father Paul Morris said he was preparing for the 10:30 a.m. Easter mass, which was expected to draw about 900 people, when he began hearing from concerned parishioners.

Morris said when he saw the graffiti, he felt sick, angry and sad.

“When you hear about crime in the media, it is depersonalized, we’re so used to reading about it,” Morris said. “When you are the victim of a crime, you feel very personally violated.”

Because the vandalism took place the day before Easter Sunday — the most important day of the Christian year — and at two churches located seven kilometres apart, Morris said he feels the crime was targeted, but the motivation remains unknown.

“Is this simply an act of petty vandalism or is there a more sinister message that is trying to be delivered here to Christians, I can’t answer that. It’s that unknowing that’s the most unsettling part.”

Father Simon Lobo, St. Benedict’s pastor, said he too found out about the vandalism at his church while preparing for Sunday morning mass.

Thankfully, he said, volunteers were able to clean up the graffiti enough that it was illegible by the time people arrived for services. He said the church is reviewing video camera surveillance of the incident.