A sacred golden statue of Jesus in Vilnius shattered after a man believed to be from the UK hoisted it by the arms, prompting a police investigation. CCTV footage from the evening of November 11 shows a man holding the sculpture from the Shrine of Divine Mercy church (Dievo Gailestingumo šventovė) in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania's capital.
Footage shows statue breaking
The man, who reportedly spoke with an English accent and is wearing a long grey coat and stripy scarf, can be heard laughing as he holds the sacred monument in front of another man wearing a turquoise hat, who is sat on a bench to the side of the camera. The man on the bench starts taking photos as the man with the long scarf poses smiling with the statue.
As he hoists the statue aloft by the arms and lowers it to the ground, the arms then break off, causing the statue to fall onto the cobblestones and shatter across the street. The man places the arms of the statue on the floor before running away down the street, with the man in the hat walking behind him.
Priest shares footage and police investigate
The Shrine's priest, Fr. Elijas Anatolijus Markauskas, has shared the CCTV video footage, believed to be from a nearby shop, with an appeal for it to be shared more widely, on his public Facebook page. The priest said the statue was taken from a wooden cross in a courtyard close to the street where the men were spotted.
Vilnius Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident. A statement said: "On November 11, at about 9 p.m. in Vilnius, Dominikonų St., from the inner courtyard of the church, an unidentified person broke a golden sculpture of Jesus hanging on a wooden cross. The damage is being assessed." A pre-trial investigation has been initiated under Article 284 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania.
Appeal for information
The incident has been reported on Lithuanian TV, and the CCTV footage was shared with the ECHO in the hopes that someone in the UK may have information which could help with the investigation. The Shrine of Divine Mercy church is known for holding the 1934 painting of the Divine Mercy, where Jesus reportedly appeared to Faustina Kowalska, a Polish sister and mystic.
The police in Vilnius are asking anyone who witnessed the incident and anyone who can provide information relevant to the investigation to come forward and contact Daiva Žilinskytė, Senior Investigator of the Vilnius City Third Police Commissariat, by e-mail daiva.zilinskyte@policija.lt or by phone +370 646 32147, or by calling the emergency services number 112 in Lithuania.
