Our Lady statue destroyed in latest attack on New York Catholic church

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Our Lady statue destroyed in latest attack on New York Catholic church
Police are investigating the latest attack on St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Queens, where a man reportedly used a hammer to destroy a statue of the Blessed Mother.



Vandalized statue of Our Lady, St. Rita Roman Catholic Church, Dutch Kills section of Queens, New York.
St. Rita's Church/Diocese of Brooklyn

Aug 5, 2026
NEW YORK (LifeSiteNews) — A man smashed a statue of the Virgin Mary at a parish church in Queens that has suffered multiple acts of vandalism in the past two years.

In the early morning of August 1, an unidentified man was seen on video surveillance footage jumping over the fence into a courtyard belonging to St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in the Dutch Kills section of Queens in New York.

According to QNS, the man used a hammer to smash a statue of the Blessed Mother, decapitating it and causing it to fall off its pedestal. The Diocese of Brooklyn said it was the fourth act of vandalism at St. Rita’s Church since 2024.

Previous attacks on the parish church included the smashing of a stained-glass window, vandalism of a statue of St. Jude inside the church, and the defacing of a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in April when a man spray-painted the word “PAGAN” on the sidewalk in front of the statue.

The New York City Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force has opened an investigation into the case. The suspect has been described as having a light skin complexion and dark hair.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). Citizens may also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (@NYPDTips). All calls and messages are strictly confidential.

A similar attack happened at another Catholic Church on Long Island in May. As LifeSiteNews reported at the time, parishioners at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in East Islip, New York, were shocked to discover the violent desecration of a Sacred Heart statue. The head of Jesus Christ had been severed from the statue body and later discovered in nearby bushes.