On Saturday, May 16, attendees arrived at St. Mary’s Church for First Communion celebrations and discovered that the head of the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue in the courtyard had been removed. Police later found the statue head in the bushes.
Parishioners expressed that the act of vandalism has shaken the community and have been placing flowers beneath the statue according to News12 Long Island.
“It’s a terrible thing,” Father Anthony Iaconis, the pastor of St. Mary’s said. “I just ask people to pray for the person who did this. It’s not right, but we can still pray for them.”
The statue is expected to be restored next week, thanks in large part to donations that are already streaming in.
The police say they are investigating the act as a hate crime.
A statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was left decapitated this weekend during a First Communion at Saint Mary's Church in Long Island, New York.
— Catholics for Catholics 🇺🇲 (@CforCatholics) May 19, 2026
Police say they are investigating the act as a hate crime.
Donations are already coming in to repair the statue by next week. pic.twitter.com/UllLTKwpoh
“Along with the parishioners of Saint Mary’s Church, the Diocese is troubled by the vandalism to the statue of our Lord,” said Father Eric Fasano, spokesman for the Diocese of Rockville Centre. “As the investigation continues, we pray that justice will be restored for the parish.”
This is the latest in a string of high-profile attacks on Catholic churches in the United States.
In February, Holy Innocents School in Long Beach, California was savagely desecrated. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced it would be assisting local authorities in investigating the incident, but as of this writing, no suspects have been charged.
According to a database, there have already been 20 documented attacks on Catholic Churches in the United States in 2026.
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