SW News:

In Australia, two ornate sacred statues in two Catholic churches were found vandalized on Tuesday, December 6. The sacred images were found damaged in the historic churches of St. Matthew's (170 years old) and St. Patrick's Catholic Church (140 years old) in Albury. 

In St Patrick’s Church, the vicar Fr Henry Ibe found the statue of the Virgin smashed and its head decapitated in the courtyard on Monday. The vandalism, according to Father Ibe, was an act of intimidation against his church. "We will not bow to intimidation," the father responded, "and we will respond by replacing Our Lady's statue with a larger one." 

Similarly, in St Matthew’s Church, the statue of St Francis of Assisi was found toppled and its head smashed with fragments scattered all over. The act of vandalism was discovered by parishioners who were inside the church packing hampers for the poor this Christmas. According to Newswire, Father Peter MacLeod-Miller, the rector of St. Matthew's Church, stated that police have "formed a suspicion" about the individuals responsible and that he would like to see action taken against them. 

According to New South Wales Police, officers from the Murray River Police District have been notified, and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident has begun. St. Matthews, one of the largest churches in the border region, offers emergency shelter to the homeless, drug addicts, and those fleeing violence. It also provides advocacy in the courts and other services to those in need. 

St. Patrick's Church was blessed and dedicated on November 24, 1872. Dr. McAlroy, who devised the plan and oversaw its execution, was buried behind the altar. From 1868 until his death in 1880, he was the parish priest of Albury and was known as the "Apostle of the South." He preferred gothic arches that pointed upward like a pair of hands in prayer, reassuring us that the church is a working structure dedicated to God's worship.