On Wednesday, January 6, 2016, Saint Lawrence Church at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Shrine in Lindenwold was vandalized.
You can help repair the vandalized stained glass by donating to a special fund to support the church.
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That day, between 11:30 a.m. and Noon, a person or persons entered the church, located at 135 N. White Horse Pike, and broke several exterior and interior stained glass windows. The vandal(s) also knocked over the church’s paschal candle, the Papal flag and the cross on the altar.
The person(s) used glass votive candle holders located in the shrine area to smash the windows located in the sacristy and vestibule.
Overall damage is estimated to be in the thousands of dollars. No money or items were stolen from the church.
For the foreseeable future, for both investigative reasons and security reasons, the Saint Lawrence Church will now only be utilized for scheduled events and Masses. The church had been open daily to pilgrims and visitors wishing to worship and pray at the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Shrine Pastor, Father Joseph P. Capella, thanks the many parishioners and community members who have communicated concern for the welfare of the church, visitors and staff. Additionally, Father Capella would like to thank the Lindenwold Police for their immediate response and thorough investigation.
“We pray for the perpetrator of this act of vandalism, and ask that he or she bring themselves forward to the local authorities,” said Father Capella.
The parish is hopeful that the windows, which are unquestionably works of art, can be repaired. “We thank God no visitor was in the church when whoever did this entered and committed this crime. Again, please pray for the person responsible for this atrocity done to our Lord’s house,” said Father Capella.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is also an active parish, was officially dedicated on October 30, 2011 by His Excellency Bishop Joseph Galante, D.D., J.C.D. then ordinary Bishop of the Diocese of Camden. The main purpose of the shrine is to provide a place of pilgrimage and prayer in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in an effort to seek her intercession in honoring and promoting the sanctity of human life. The Shrine contains an exact replica of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe as it appeared on the tilma (cloak) of St. Juan Diego on December 9, 1531. The replica was touched to the original tilma that is located in Mexico.