Police in Paris are searching for an “African type” man accused of vandalising and desecrating a Roman Catholic church in central Paris, who they say has a prior history of church attacks.
The damage to the Church of Saint-Eustache, one of the largest in the French capital and located in the 1st arrondissement (district), was caused on Thursday, with Yves Trocheris, priest of the Oratory, notifying the public of the attack on Instagram.
According to Father Trocheris, the suspect broke protective glass at the altar of the church as daily Mass was being conducted at a chapel within the church at around 12:30 p.m. in the early afternoon.
“This altar is at the heart of the church as Christ is at the heart of our gatherings and of the rich life of our parish community. Its desecration — since that is the name of the violence it suffered — touches us deeply. The witnesses of the scene were very affected and we are very affected along with them, ” Father Trocheris wrote.
According to a report from broadcaster CNews, the main suspect in the case is an “African type” man with short hair and standing at a height of around 6 foot 2 inches tall. A hand-drawn portrait was provided by a sacristan to police as he had observed the man fleeing the church.
The suspect is also believed to have vandalised the Church of Saint-François-Xavier on February 28th. The damage to the church is said to have been similar, and fingerprints were recovered by police at the scene.
Paris: Churches Targetted By Arson Attacks Three Times Within Dayshttps://t.co/Fs9lx5gcVd
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 27, 2023
The attacks are just the latest this year in Paris and come after attempted arsons in January in which two churches were targetted within a period of several days.
The Notre-Dame-de-Fatima Roman Catholic church in Paris’ 19th arrondissement was attacked on January 17th and again on the 22nd, while the Church of Saint-Martin-des-Champs in the 10th arrondissement was also attacked by a suspect attempting to set fires.
“Video surveillance attests that a man came shortly before 5 am and started [the fire] using fuel brought purposely, probably petrol,” Father Stéphane-Paul Bentz of the Church of Saint-Martin-des-Champs said.
Church attacks and other anti-Christian attacks, including attacks and murders of clergy and parishioners, have become increasingly prominent during President Emmanuel Macron’s years as French leader.
A report from 2019 claimed that as many as three churches were being attacked across France per day on average.
French Court Tries Repeat Criminal over Burning of Four Churcheshttps://t.co/91NcInjBq8
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 18, 2022
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.