Parishioners Come Together Days After Destructive Church Burglary

SANTA MARIA, Calif.-?Days after a woman allegedly goes on a bizarre and destructive crime spree at a local church, parishioners come together for the first Mass service after the horrific break-in.

A block of concrete is all that's left of what used to hold the St. John Newman statue days after it was desecrated.?A slab of wood now covers a broken glass door days after it was smashed. All this, after accused suspect Amanda Ruiz allegedly broke into St. John Newman's Catholic Church early Thursday morning.

Pastor Herrera says the damage isn't keeping parishioners out, "we have kept the services for them, and we will continue repairing the sacred place."

Herrera says he was on vacation when Ruiz allegedly broke into the church and set fire to collection baskets and music books.

As of Sunday,?the stain glass?windows that were smashed are still broken and people in the parish say the windows are very difficult to replace as they come all the way from Rome and cost more than $1,000.

"We just recently had a fundraising campaign and had them to replaced, so they're very pricey and special to us," says parishioner, Victor Cortez.

Santa Maria Fire says when they arrived they found Ruiz playing the piano and was under the influence of a controlled substance.

"This was not a target of any cult, any target of any gangs, it was just a confused person," says Cortez.

As for the cost of the damage?

"Monsignor Herrera is waiting to hear back from the insurance company and the Archdiocese and the fire chief," says Cortez.

Source: http://www.kcoy.com/story/20132128/parishioners-come-together-days-after-destructive-church-burglary

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