Devastating attack on church in France raises renewed concerns about security in the country's places of worship

Budapest, Hungary, September 4, 2024 / 07:00

The historic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France was devastated by arson on the night of September 2nd.

The suspect, a repeat offender who had attempted to set fire to numerous places of worship in the past, was arrested a few hours after the fire was brought under control.

According to local authorities, the fire broke out around 4 a.m. It then spread to the side and central aisles, then to the roof and the bell tower, which quickly collapsed. Thanks to the efforts of 120 firefighters, the fire was under control by 7:15 a.m.

Although there were no injuries, around 60 residents living near the building were evacuated as a precaution.

Initial investigations revealed that a 39-year-old man had allegedly broken into the building and smashed a stained glass window. The suspect, identified as Joël Vigoureux, was arrested and taken into police custody on the evening of September 2. He is said to have been convicted several times in recent years for similar acts of destruction by fire.

While the images published by the media showed only the metal skeleton of the church tower and the exact extent of the damage has not yet been determined, the intervention of the parish priest, Father Sébastien Roussel, made it possible to save the Blessed Sacrament and about 20 other religious artifacts, including the reliquary bust of Saint Corneille.

“With the authorization and under the supervision of the firefighters, I was able to enter the church when the fire was under control to take the most important items, namely first the ciborium in the tabernacle and then several statues and elements of the liturgical furnishings,” he told CNA.

In another interview, Roussel added that “the stained glass windows, especially the beautiful ones in the choir dedicated to Mary, are not too damaged.”

The neo-Gothic inspired church was completed in 1859 and completely renovated by the municipality in 2018 for 5 million euros.

The President of the Hauts de France region, Xavier Bertrand, assured Le Figaro that his government “will support the city of Saint-Omer in its reconstruction to bring this heritage back to life.”

The French newspaper also reported that a meeting was held at the town hall on Tuesday, attended by the architect in charge of coordinating the renovation and prefectural officials, in order to quickly start the reconstruction, which is expected to take several years.

On Wednesday, there will be an hour of prayer in front of the church, followed by a mass celebrated by the Bishop of Arras, Olivier Leborgne, in the Basilica of Notre-Dame-des-Miracles in Saint-Omer.

The images of the flames consuming the roof and tower of the monument, which has become an open-air church, continue to generate anger and dismay on social media, not least because they are so familiar.

In recent years, many famous Catholic buildings in France – including Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris – have been severely damaged by fire. On July 11, the tower of Rouen Cathedral also caught fire. However, the fire brigade quickly brought the fire under control.

On July 12, the Observatoire du Patrimoine Religieux, an association dedicated to preserving and promoting France's religious heritage, told AFP that 27 churches had been burned down in 2023 and 12 in the first six months of 2024. Attacks on religious monuments in recent years account for about 90% of the approximately 1,000 anti-Christian acts recorded annually by the French Interior Ministry.

(The story continues below)

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