On Tuesday August 17, a decapitated statue of the Virgin Mary was located in the town of Plouay in the region of Morbihan. As CNews reports, this is not the first time that this statue of the Virgin Mary has been decapitated. In 2013, it had met the same fate, but unlike this Tuesday, the head had been found. ” They can destroy it, we will rebuild it,” the parochial vicar explained, distressed. This incident occurred two days after the feast of the Assumption, traditionally celebrated on August 15. In the parish, 300 people had gathered to attend mass in front of the statue. The community announced that they would file a complaint with the gendarmerie.
The feast of the Assumption on August 15 celebrates “the death, the resurrection, the entrance into paradise and the coronation of the Virgin Mary”, according to the website eglise.catholique.fr. It is a celebration full of hope. The beheading of a statue of the Blessed Virgin is therefore a very symbolic act of vandalism for Catholics. In 2019, the Ministry of the Interior counted 1,052 anti-Christian acts in its report on anti-religious acts. This compares to 687 anti-Semitic acts and 154 attacks on Muslims.