It happened in Oklahoma over the weekend, at the beginning of the month dedicated to Our Lady:
Churchgoers were upset Sunday morning when they discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary vandalized with black spray paint. The defacement of the shrine at St. Thomas More University Parish and Student Center, 100 E Stinson, near the University of Oklahoma, likely happened overnight. Those in attendance were shocked by the vandalism and offended by a sign left on the statue, church officials said. “It was very disturbing to a lot of people and very deliberate,” said Lisa Schmidt, administrative assistant to the pastor. “As a parishioner and as a Catholic, I would invite them to learn more about why we revere the Mother Mary and why this would be so offensive. “I’d like to understand why they would do this, and I think they should understand why we found this so repugnant,” Schmidt said. The vandals painted the statue’s face black and taped the name “ERZULIE” on a sign at the shrine. Erzulie is the name of a voodoo goddess, the Rev. Jim Goins said. The statue was cleaned but traces of the paint remain. It will be professionally cleaned and the area’s security will be updated, Goins said.
And today we celebrate...