The glass out of the Parish Hall doors was broke and branches from a flower arrangement were used to try and set the Hall on fire.
Peter L. Smith
The glass out of the Parish Hall doors was broke and branches from a flower arrangement were used to try and set the Hall on fire.
Peter L. Smith
SHEENBORO – On March 14 as St. Paul the Hermit Church was being prepared for a funeral mass, residents were shocked to find that an unknown person(s) had vandalized and tried to set fire to the church (built in 1918) and Parish Hall.
Billy Brennan, a municipal employee, was the first to notice the destruction, which included three broken stained glass windows, broken glass in the Hall doors facing Sheenboro Street, and painted symbols on the Church doors in a red substance that resembled blood. The red substance was also found on several windows and two flags.
An analysis is currently being done to determine whether it was in fact blood, and if so, its origin; the analysis is expected to take a few weeks.
In addition, the bell cord was cut and both the Sheenboro and Quebec flags were torn down from the flagpole and used to try and start a fire along the church. Ashes were also found within the church and a poster removed from the church’s display board was used in an attempt to start a fire. The vandal(s) also used branches from
a flower arrangement outside the church to try to set the Parish Hall on fire. Fortunately, the wood was too wet and no fires were started in any of the attempts.
After the Surete de Quebec did a preliminary inspection, the destruction was cleaned up by volunteers and the windows were covered with plastic to allow the funeral mass to proceed. A damage estimate is forthcoming and the investigation continues.
