The Kansas Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s bishops, posted photos on social media. One of the destroyed statues appeared to be an image of the parish’s patron, St. Patrick.
Police have arrested a 23-year-old man suspected of heavily vandalizing and defacing the interior of a Catholic parish in Wichita, Kansas, over the weekend.
According to the Wichita Police Department, officers responded to a reported burglary at St. Patrick parish on the morning of March 15. Once inside, the officers discovered extensive vandalism, including damage to statues, candles, and glass, and hate speech graffitied on the walls. In addition, an American flag was burned.
St. Patrick’s, which includes a parish school, is located in north-central Wichita and predominantly serves the Latino community. Authorities said that Wichita Police Department investigators launched a full-scale investigation alongside the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
At approximately 2:20 a.m. on Sunday, officers located and arrested the suspected perpetrator, whom they described as being from Saline County, about 100 miles north of Wichita. The man, who has not been publicly identified, has been booked into the Sedgwick County jail on charges of burglary, criminal desecration, and criminal damage to property.
The Kansas Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s bishops, posted photos on social media of the “hate crime scene.” One of the destroyed statues appeared to be an image of the parish’s patron, St. Patrick.
“After forcing their way inside, statues were destroyed, glass smashed, and other extensive damage exacted upon this sacred space,” the conference wrote. “A Satanic website was scrawled on a wall. This is the face of evil.”
Despite having to move Masses to the school gym over the weekend, the parish was still able to hold its St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday to honor its namesake saint.
CNA reached out to the Diocese of Wichita for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
The St. Patrick’s vandalism comes amid considerable controversy in Kansas over a Satanist-organized “black mass” — a blasphemous mockery of the Catholic Mass — slated to take place March 28 at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka. A Catholic-led petition asking Gov. Laura Kelly to shut down the event has attracted nearly 40,000 signatures.
Chuck Weber, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, told CNA on Monday that there is presently no evidence that the vandalism incident in Wichita is in any way connected to the Satanic worship ritual planned for March 28. An address for a Satanic website was left behind at St. Patrick’s, but it does not refer to the same group planning to come to Topeka, he said.
Weber previously told CNA that the organizer of the group planning the “black mass,” Michael Stewart, has been telephoning the Catholic Conference for the purpose of “taunting me and the bishops,” even texting Weber personally to harass him and boast of his intention to “kill Jesus.”
Stewart gave an interview to local news last week in which he described the “mass” as an act of protest against authority and said the group plans to hold its ritual inside the capitol building despite Kelly decreeing they must remain outdoors. He also said the group plans to blasphemously parody the Stations of the Cross.
On Monday, EWTN News Nightly White House Correspondent Owen Jensen asked President Donald Trump about the vandalism during a visit to the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Jensen asked, “A Catholic church in Wichita, Kansas, over the weekend was vandalized, statues destroyed, glass smashed, graffiti all over the place. Church officials in Kansas call it a hate crime. I know you signed an EO eradicating anti-Christian bias, but sir, what more can the White House do to protect places of worship like St Patrick’s Church in Wichita, Kansas?”
Trump responded, “Well, we’re going to take a look. I love Wichita. You know, I got big votes there. We won that state by a lot. We’ll take a look at that. When did this happen?”
“This happened over the weekend, sir. Again, statues destroyed …” Jensen said.
“Terrible. I think it’s a terrible thing. And this was a Catholic church?” Trump responded.
Jensen continued, “Yes, St. Patrick’s …”
Trump replied, “Okay, I’m going to take a look at it.”
