- Joined
- Mar 11, 2013
- Messages
- 14,950
- Points
- 113
Churches are increasingly forced to lock their doors as thefts, vandalism, and intimidation rise across the continent
Shot of the church in Saint-Fiacre, Côtes-d'Armor, built in the 15th century. (Getty Images)
hefts from churches in France have risen dramatically, with official figures showing a 24 percent increase in just two years. In 2024, 780 incidents were recorded, ranging from stolen chalices and statues to collection money amid a growing vulnerability of Christian places of worship.
At Paris’s Notre-Dame d’Auteuil Church, Father Antoine Devienne explained how his parish has been targeted in the past. “There was an attempted theft of a crown given to the Virgin Mary a few years ago. Well, we took it away because we didn’t want to tempt bad intentions,” he told Europe 1. The church has since installed cameras and relies on staff patrols to maintain security, with doors double-locked after Mass.
Parishioners say they are unsettled by the situation. “I find it monstrous, unacceptable,” said Sophie, 83. Louis, 37, who came to pray with his fiancée, said he regretted finding the doors closed. “It’s still unfortunate to see that today in France, we are forced to close churches during the day when, before, all the churches were open. It was a place of prayer where we could go to reflect,” he said.
But the threat extends far beyond theft. Across Europe, churches have been vandalized, burned, and attacked, with clergy and worshippers sometimes coming under direct assault.
In Spain last Sunday, a 21-year-old Moroccan migrant was arrested after smashing a stained-glass window with a hammer and attempting to set fire to the Church of Santiago Apóstol in Albuñol. The Union of Islamic Communities of Andalusia condemned the attack, insisting that it was an isolated act that did not represent the wider Muslim community, but the trend is undeniable.
Thefts from churches in France have risen dramatically, with official figures showing a 24 percent increase in just two years. In 2024, 780 incidents were recorded, ranging from stolen chalices and statues to collection money amid a growing vulnerability of Christian places of worship.
At Paris’s Notre-Dame d’Auteuil Church, Father Antoine Devienne explained how his parish has been targeted in the past. “There was an attempted theft of a crown given to the Virgin Mary a few years ago. Well, we took it away because we didn’t want to tempt bad intentions,” he told Europe 1. The church has since installed cameras and relies on staff patrols to maintain security, with doors double-locked after Mass.
Parishioners say they are unsettled by the situation. “I find it monstrous, unacceptable,” said Sophie, 83. Louis, 37, who came to pray with his fiancée, said he regretted finding the doors closed. “It’s still unfortunate to see that today in France, we are forced to close churches during the day when, before, all the churches were open. It was a place of prayer where we could go to reflect,” he said.
But the threat extends far beyond theft. Across Europe, churches have been vandalized, burned, and attacked, with clergy and worshippers sometimes coming under direct assault.
In Spain last Sunday, a 21-year-old Moroccan migrant was arrested after smashing a stained-glass window with a hammer and attempting to set fire to the Church of Santiago Apóstol in Albuñol. The Union of Islamic Communities of Andalusia condemned the attack, insisting that it was an isolated act that did not represent the wider Muslim community, but the trend is undeniable.
In Germany this week, a church in Mainz was vandalized, part of a pattern that Austrian activist Martin Sellner described as “happening every day.” He linked the trend to broader demographic change in Europe, warning that “with the boomers goes our demographic majority.”
France has suffered some of the most shocking attacks. In 2016, Father Jacques Hamel was murdered during morning Mass in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray by two men who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
