The vandal, a male, was caught on security cameras walking up to the statue and pulling it down, according to John Andrews, communications director for the Diocese of San Bernardino.
The parish has a strong devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and even has a mural of the apparition on one of the church’s exterior walls. Our Lady of Guadalupe is also the patroness of the Diocese of San Bernardino.
Father Fidel Rivero, the church’s pastor, said his message for the vandal is prayer and forgiveness.
“We just pray for him. We don’t know what his motive was. We ask God to forgive him for whatever he did,” Rivero said.
A police report was filed with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, Andrews said. A parishioner has volunteered to attempt to refurbish the statue, Andrews added.
In a statement on Twitter, the diocese wrote: “This past weekend Corpus Christi, Corona, had their Our Lady of Guadalupe statue vandalized. We offer our prayers to the Patroness of our diocese, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to be with the community of Corpus Christi at this time. Please keep them all in your #prayers”
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