DAYTON’S IMMACULATE CONCEPTION HIT BY VANDALS
It’s not the first time such acts committed at Dayton parish.
Several statues outside DAYTON — the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church were destroyed and the parish believes they are beyond repair.
“There’s an investigation going on. This is not the first time the shrine has been vandalized,” said Rev. Satish Joseph, pastor at the church, 2300 South Smithville Rd.
The damage was discovered Wednesday morning.
Four of the statues that surround the Virgin Mary statue at the church were knocked from their bases and shattered on the ground.
“Hate and vandalism and doing harm to others is certainly contrary to the way of Jesus,” Joseph said.
The statues have been vandalized several other times in the past, including in October 2010, when a juvenile hanging on the statue was said to have broken off the arms and hands of the Virgin Mary statue. In 2011, someone used red spray paint to deface the statues, according to Dayton police reports.
Kathy Carter has attended services at Immaculate Conception since she was a child and teaches at the school now. She was brought to tears when she saw the damage Wednesday morning.
“These people gave us cracks in our hearts,” Carter said. “Not only did they hurt the statues, but they hurt us.”
Joseph said police have been contacted and the parish is reviewing surveillance video from outside the church to see if any of the criminal acts were captured on camera.
Late Wednesday morning, students from the Immaculate Conception school gathered around the damage and prayed along with Joseph.
“We’re here to pray for those who have such strong feelings in their heart, especially for this hate and destruction,” Joseph said. “It’s important for our children to feel that in these moments we don’t repay evil with evil, anger with anger.”
The damaged statues were designed by Walter Driesbach, of Cincinnati, according to the parish’s website.