Montcenis church desecrated: Statues of Saint Thérèse and Sacred Heart smashed Nov 5. Parish in shock; police probe vandalism amid rising Christian site attacks.
Newsroom (07/11/2025, Gaudium Press ) Parishioners in the small commune of Montcenis, Saône-et-Loire, awoke to a scene of deliberate destruction on Wednesday, November 5, when two revered statues inside their historic church were violently thrown to the ground and shattered beyond repair.
The targeted icons were those of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, discovered in pieces on the floor of the church — the oldest in nearby Le Creusot — by worshippers entering for morning prayers. Local outlet Le Creusot Infos, which first published images of the wreckage, confirmed the incident was no accident but a calculated act of vandalism.
Le Creusot police have launched a formal investigation, gathering physical evidence and securing surveillance footage from the site. The video captures an individual sprinting into and out of the church moments before the damage was found, solidifying authorities’ conclusion of intentional desecration.
In a unified statement, Montcenis Mayor Thierry Buisson and Father Godefroy de Suremain, parish priest of Saint-François d’Assise, voiced profound grief and outrage. “On Wednesday, November 5th, in the church of Montcenis, two statues were deliberately and violently thrown to the ground and destroyed,” they said. “One represented Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and the other the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Their state of destruction unfortunately precludes any repair.”
The leaders condemned the attack as an assault on shared heritage and faith: “To attack a place of prayer is to wound not only a heritage that belongs to all, but also the Christian faith of those who gather in this church to pray.” They stressed that, regardless of the perpetrator’s motives, “the consequences of such acts can never be minimized, because people have been wounded in their faith and in their history.”
The parish plans to counter the incident with spiritual resilience, announcing a special prayer intention during Sunday Mass on November 9 for “all those in the world who cannot live their faith freely and in peace.”
This episode unfolds against a backdrop of escalating vandalism targeting Christian sites in France. The Observatory of Christianophobia documents hundreds of annual cases involving damage to churches, statues, or tabernacles — incidents often underreported or overlooked by mainstream attention.
For Montcenis residents, the blow strikes at the community’s core. The church stands as both a religious sanctuary and a cultural landmark. One parishioner, speaking anonymously with a voice laced with emotion, lamented: “It’s not just plaster that’s been broken, it’s our faith that’s been trampled upon.”
As the investigation continues, the village grapples with the irreparable loss, underscoring broader concerns over the protection of sacred spaces in an increasingly secular landscape.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Tribune Chretienne
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