Caught on Camera: Teen Vandals Break Into a Catholic Church, Destroy an Organ and Seriously Deface an Image of a Pope

Police are currently on the hunt for vandals who broke into a Catholic Church in Brighton, Mass., last week, wreaking upon the sanctuary.

Three teenagers reportedly forcibly entered Our Lady of Presentation Church and destroyed an organ, damaged three doors, defaced a oil painting of Pope John XXIII with a Devil's star and also wrote phrases on it like "(Expletive) God" and "Scooby Doo," The Boston Globe reported.

Residue from deployed fire extinguishers was also coating the church's floor.

WBZ-TV has more:

What's perhaps most curious about the situation is what the vandals left behind: a water bottle, a bottle of Sprite, Pringles, a bag of Tostito chips and a partially empty bottle of Italian wine.

Police believe that the three -- two boys and a girl -- spent a total of six hours inside the house of worship.

It's unclear exactly when the crime unfolded, but police say it was likely between 3 p.m. on Nov. 23 and 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 25, WBZ-TV reported.

A cut up image of Pope John XXIII (Credit: WBZ-TV)

St. John’s Seminary, which owns the church and uses the house of worship as a lecture hall, released a statement on Monday addressing the break-in.

"Recently Our Lady of the Presentation Lecture Hall was vandalized. The building and the former rectory are assets of Saint John’s Seminary," it read. "Surveillance cameras recorded individuals breaking into the building. A copy has been provided to the police. The building is secure at this time and the police are conducting a full investigation in hopes of catching those responsible."

In an interview with the Globe, The Rev. Chris O’Connor, vice rector of Saint John’s Seminary, said that the church has been closed down for worship purposes for the past eight years. He said he found himself sad over the recent events that unfolded there.

"The thing that goes through my mind whenever somebody does something like this is just sadness," he said, noting that it was lucky for church officials that cameras were on the premises. "You’re on 'Candid Camera.' It’s just one of those things that happens. You could call it divine providence, if you will, that we had cameras here."

Police continue their search for those responsible.

(H/T: Boston Globe)

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Featured image via WBZ-TV

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