Landmarked SoHo Church Vandalized, Police Say

SOHO, NY — A SoHo church that's more than a century old was vandalized on Monday morning by an unknown person, police said.

The vandal took three small statutes outside of the St. Anthony of Padua Church and hurled them at a larger statue of the Virgin Mary, according to authorities. Police say he jumped the church's fence on 155 Sullivan St. before taking the three statues and throwing them the Virgin Mary statue, an NYPD spokesman told Patch. The vandalism was first reported by CBS New York.

The vandal damaged the statues at about 12:40 a.m. on Monday morning, the spokesman said. Police are currently reviewing surveillance footage from outside the church. (Want more local news? Subscribe here for free news alerts and neighborhood updates from Patch.)

Rev. Mario Julian, the church's pastor, told Patch that the full extent of damage to the statues is unknown.

"The guy did big damage," Julian said. "He picked them right up and flung them full force."

Julian said that the statues were at least 40 years old, and said he wasn't yet sure whether they would be replaced or repaired. He estimated that fully replacing the statues would cost between $8,000 and $10,000.

St. Anthony of Padua Church was built in SoHo in 1888 and has been landmarked by the city.

Lead image via Google Maps.