A statue of the Virgin Mary at the entrance of a Catholic school in Elmhurst was vandalized early Friday morning, according to the Diocese of Brooklyn.
On Friday, July 10, around 3 a.m., an unknown individual approached the statue outside of Cathedral Prep School and Seminary, located at 56-25 92nd St., and wrote the word “idol” onto the statue’s front, the diocese said. School staff discovered the vandalism around 7:30 a.m. By Friday afternoon, the statue had been cleaned, according to the diocese.
“Today, Cathedral Prep endured an act of hatred. We were victims of vandalism against a beloved statue that is dear to generations of Cathedral students. This image of our most Blessed Mother is approximately 100 years old and each day, both students and passersby pray fervently for her intercession in front of the statue,” said Father James Kuroly, the rector and president of Cathedral Prep. “Obviously, this tragedy saddens us deeply but it also renews our hope and faith in the Lord as he has shown his goodness in the many people who have already reached out to us. We are sincerely grateful for the help we have received as well as the prayers.”
The statue of the Virgin Mary has been at the entrance of the boys school for over 100 years. It moved with the school when the school was relocated from Brooklyn to Elmhurst in 1985.
Police released a surveillance photo of the suspect on July 11.
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of this individual is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
All calls are strictly confidential.
