Sudbury's Ste. Anne-des-Pins church is vandalized again

Parishioners at St. Anne-des-Pins in downtown Sudbury are troubled by several acts of vandalism directed toward the church, leaving the small, French-speaking congregation wondering why they are being targeted.

In May, courtyard statues of Mary and baby Jesus were both decapitated for the third time in just over five years, Michel Chrétien, chair of the administration board at the church in northern Ontario, told CBC News.

The statue first attracted international attention when the head of baby Jesus was replaced with a terra cotta sculpture after being decapitated. The result was a bit startling due to the contrast in colours, as well as the fact that the clay began to erode from the rain about a week after it was attached

The recent decapitation of both Mary and baby Jesus follows an incident where vandals damaged the church's air conditioner, and another where vandals sliced the building's internet cable.

Although Chrétien isn't going to point figures at any group who may have caused the damage, he said there are noticeably more people camping overnight on the church's lawn. And the downtown core has seen an increase in the number of homeless, including an encampment in Memorial Park that was shut down by the city earlier in 2022. 

"It's unfortunate that the city is seeing its share of people experiencing homelessness, but it's a problem visible across the province, and a way that society is evolving," Chrétien said.

"Not to blame these people, but I mean, there are more people now without a home, without work," Chrétien said. "These kinds of incidents happen on a more regular basis than it did 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago." 

He said parishioners are "perturbed" at the rash of incidents, especially as St. Anne's has a vibrant culture of helping those less fortunate. 

Chrétien estimates members give approximately $15,000 annually to different organizations that help the city's homeless population, while other parishioners assist at the downtown soup kitchen.

"On the one hand, we give, we help," Chrétien said. "And on the other hand, we get vandalism."

"So it's sometimes hard to take, because we feel that our generosity isn't necessarily appreciated." 

Kids causing ruckus downtown 

Ali Farook, who helps run the Go-Give Project, a group that tends to the needs of the city's homeless, said he'd be surprised if all the incidents at the church were directly related to the homeless population.

He said there's a "minuscule" number of his 100-plus clients who may be damaging property, but overall, the homeless see St. Anne's as one of the places downtown that offers support. 

"If they do use the church, they use the doorways to spend the night basically," Farook said. "We've encountered them numerous times, but we haven't come across an instance where they would be the ones doing any vandalism on the property."

Farook said he suspects the damage comes from kids venturing into the downtown core at night.

"It is usually people, kids who are housed and stuff like that who do come downtown to create a ruckus," Farook said. "But our community, it does not engage in those acts on a regular basis.

"It might be people attending bars at nighttime or stuff like that. We do have a lot of kids that come downtown at nighttime who aren't really part of the homeless community. And that's where you see the acts of vandalism spike up, especially in the summertime, because now COVID has lifted, people have more freedom. But they don't have anything to do."

Farook added that homeless people will likely be more visible this summer since the city fenced off Memorial Park, home to a large encampment in 2021.

But don't expect more visibility to mean more acts of vandalism.

Sarah Kaelas, a spokesperson for Greater Sudbury Police Services, said in an email to CBC that vandalism incidents have actually decreased since 2021.

"From June 1st to July 12, 2022, mischiefs are down 16 per cent when compared to the same timeframe in 2021," Kaelas said.