Vandalism at Church Called a Hate Crime

The vandalism that occurred at a Van Nuys Catholic church over the weekend is being classified as a hate crime, police said Tuesday.

Someone sprayed paint on a mosaic of the Virgin Mary and scrawled the number 8 in black on some steps and doors of St. Elisabeth Catholic Church on Cedros Avenue on Saturday night. The vandalism was discovered Sunday by church employees and parishioners, who have since removed the paint.

The crime has shocked and baffled parishioners and area residents because the Virgin Mary is such a revered figure, said the Rev. Kevin Nolan, church pastor.

The tile mosaic, which has been on an outside wall of the church for many years, “always had the utmost respect of the community, Catholics and non-Catholics,” Nolan said. He said he has often seen passers-by pause, either to make a sign of the cross or in deep contemplation, in front of the colorful image.

“You talk to the most hardened gang members, and they have reverence for the Virgin Mary,” he said.

The incident is considered a hate crime because it was a deliberate act that defaced a house of worship and a religious image, said Det. Joseph Aparicio of the LAPD’s Van Nuys Division.

The spray painted number could have referred to St. Elisabeth’s as the eighth church in the Los Angeles area recently to host a traveling exhibit of a famous religious symbol, a replica of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Aparicio said.

More than two dozen images of the Virgin Mary have been vandalized since a tour of the replica began in the Los Angeles area in September, police investigators said. The tour ended earlier this month.

Authorities are investigating whether the incident is connected with those cases, Aparicio said. But the investigation was made more difficult because much of the paint had been removed before police arrived.

“My hope is that this stops,” Nolan said of the church vandalism around Los Angeles. “My fear is that you give this more publicity, there’ll be copycats.”