By Kathianne Boniello
Churches in Bayside and Ridgewood were targets of vandalism over the weekend as parishioners in both places began Sunday mass with the discovery that prominent statues of the Virgin Mary had been knocked over and in one case broken to pieces, police said.
While the statue of the Virgin Mary at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Bayside was knocked off its pedestal and discovered Sunday morning, the statue of the Blessed Mother at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Ridgewood fell down a nine-foot incline and smashed into several pieces. Both churches expected to replace the statues by later this week.
The destruction of the Bayside and Ridgewood statue occurred a month before May, the month in which Catholics honor and pay tribute to the Virgin Mother. The incidents, which police do not consider related, also came two weeks after a statue of the Virgin Mary was desecrated in Forest Hills.
There has been a string of religious vandalism in recent weeks in Brooklyn, and gravestones at a church in Staten Island were tipped over during the weekend.
Margaret Baxter, principal of the school at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal at 62-81 60th Place in Ridgewood, said the 40-pound garden statue of the Virgin Mother was bought with funds raised by parents.
