Statue at Palisades Park Church Vandalized

By Justo Bautista
The Record
March 18, 2012

http://www.northjersey.com/community/religion/houses_of_worship/Vandals_strike_statue_at_Palisades_Park_church.html?page=all

The vandalized statue of St. Nicholas at St. Nicholas R.C. Church in Palisades Park. Photo by GEORGE MCNISH

PALISADES PARK — Parishioners at a church on East Brinkerhoff Avenue were up in arms on Sunday after someone beheaded the statute of their beloved patron saint.

"This is horrible," said an outraged parishioner.

"There's no head. Is nothing sacred anymore?" said the parishioner referring to the incident at his church and the recent spate of vandalism in Bergen County, where synagogues in Hackensack and Maywood were defaced by anti-Semitic graffiti and a synagogue in Rutherford was firebombed, an incident that resulted in the arrests of two Lodi men, one of whom was charged with nine counts of attempted murder.

The statute of St. Nicholas has stood in front of St. Nicholas R.C. Church since December 2008, when it was installed and blessed, according to the church's website.

But on Sunday morning, it was a headless saint that greeted parishioners who entered the church for Mass. And there was an audible gasp among dozens of worshipers when the Rev. Jose Jeremy Soldevilla said the desecration might have occurred Saturday night.

Soldevilla could not be reached for comment Sunday night.

"When he announced it, everybody was shocked, especially this time of year," said a parishioner who attended 9:30 a.m. Mass.

The faithful are in the midst of observing Lent.

A dispatcher at Palisades Park police headquarters referred calls to the police chief, who could not be reached Sunday night.

The statute of St. Nicholas wearing a white beard, mitre and holding a Bible, rests on a tall brick foundation and is lighted at night.

As the patron saint of the church, St. Nicholas is revered among the parishioners. Historically, Nicholas was known for giving to the poor, and was the patron of sailors, children, merchants and, ironically, thieves.

Some parishioners who live on East Brinkerhoff Avenue near the church said they are comforted by the presence of the statute.

"For me, I love it," said a 71-year-old woman. "I say my prayers, and I go back to bed. For me, it's very comforting."

The woman was at a loss to explain the vandalism. It could have been the work of young pranksters or "religious lunatics," she said.

"It's awful," she said. "I can't believe somebody would do something like that."

Vandalism of church property may be rare, but it still shocks.

Last September, a South Jersey man was charged with bias intimidation and criminal mischief in connection with the vandalism of at least 40 religious statutes at churches in Evesham, Mount Laurel and Cherry Hill.

And in November, an unemployed cook in Morris County was charged with desecration of a venerated object and criminal mischief for allegedly smashing a memorial to victims of clergy sex abuse. Police said a sledgehammer was used to wreck the memorial — a circular black millstone outside St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Mendham and installed to call attention to the abuse of local boys by a former St. Joseph's pastor from Paterson.

Contact: bautista@northjersey.com