Statue of Our Lady is repaired again after third vandal incident

THE statue of Our Lady outside St Mark’s Church in Springfield was repaired and reconstructed last week, after it was smashed on Christmas Eve.

Christy Osborne and Christy Connolly carried out repair and reconstruction work on the statue so that it was fully intact again for Mother’s Day last Sunday, March 10.

After Mass on Sunday, parish priest Fr Bill O’Shaughnessy blessed the statue and invited those present to pray a Hail Mary.

This incident on Christmas Eve was the third time that the statue, which is part of a grotto within the church grounds, has been vandalised.

It followed on from a second incident of vandalism last May when it was damaged and later repaired, only for it to be vandalised yet again.

A parishioner, who asked to remain anonymous, said last January: “It is upsetting for people because a lot of people would’ve passed by and stopped to say a prayer.

“A lot of work was put into it the second time around. It’s just sad and upsetting for everyone, young and old.

“I was shocked and upset when I found out…even people who wouldn’t necessarily be churchgoers would use it as a spot where they could stop if they wanted to.

“For someone to do this, not even considering other people, it’s just mindless vandalism.”

The first incident of vandalism occurred in May 2022, with the second incident occurring almost exactly a year later, while the third incident took place last Christmas Eve.