A mosaic of at the Queen of Peace Roman Catholic Church was defaced this weekend, and church members are disgusted that anyone would do that.
Queen of Peace finds itself a vandal's target for the second time since December. In both cases, symbols of the Catholic faith were defaced. And while church members are bothered by it, they also feel sorry for whoever did it.
Queen of Peace sits on a quiet, manicured corner in La Marque. And on its campus is a small grotto featuring a mosaic of Our Lady of Guadeloupe.
"It is a sacred place and a sacred statue. People come here really to pray. So even if someone comes and sits down, we don't suspect them to be doing something you know?" said Father Chacko Puthumayil.
But somebody did do something. Vandalizing the grotto with vulgar language. We blurred out the highlighted bricks.
"It seemed like regular marker. And it wasn't too hard to remove," said church member Victor Miranda.
He cleaned it up.
"It's unbelievable that people like that would put that type of graffiti on a statue or in church grounds," Miranda said.
He used graffiti cleaner that he'd bought last December when vandals tagged a statue of Jesus that sits in front of the sanctuary. Both criminal acts that parishioners find bothersome and telling.
"It upset me very much because we put a lot of work on that grotto for the same reason. For us to use it as a meditating place," said church member Maria Compean.
"Obviously whoever did it is bored. Doesn't go to church. Needs to come to church," said church member Carol Botello.
They don't know if the two incidents are related, but the priest here thinks it's certainly someone who isn't happy with his or her own life.
"It should be some kids. That is what I think," said Fr. Puthumayil.
La Marque police are investigating, but the church says they won't press charges.
