The recent destruction by arson of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the French town of Saint-Omer in the northern part of the country has resulted in the arrest of a suspect connected to other church arsons.
Joël Vigoureux was arrested on Monday, September 2. The 38-year-old man was previously convicted of arson for 10 attacks on Catholic properties around the country and had only recently been released from prison.
French media report that Vigoureux was sentenced to three years in 2019 after a conviction for setting a church in Equihen-Plage ablaze. That church was also in northern France. After his release in 2021, he engaged in arson attacks against eight other churches or catholic properties nearby and was only sentenced to 3.5 years.
During sentencing, Vigoureux explained that he was motivated to destroy Catholic properties because of his belief that all priests are pedophiles. Vigoureux was released by the French justice system with the condition that he receive psychiatric treatment. He had been living at a group home at the time of his arrest.
French Prosecutor Mehdi Benbouzid gave a press conference where he highlighted the suspect’s previous convictions for arson and explained that his hatred for Christianity makes him likely to offend again. The AGRIF, an organization that highlighted anti-Christian acts and ideology, pointed out that despite repeat offenses and several mental health problems, the French system has repeatedly released the man, allowing him to engage in fresh attacks.
Twenty-seven French churches have been attacked and damaged by arson in 2023. A July incident resulted in anti-Christian pro-Islamic messaging being scrawled on the historic Notre Dame in Paris. There were unconfirmed suspicions of arson after a 2019 fire broke out in the cathedral, though to this day the official explanation remains accidental.
It took over a hundred firefighters to extinguish the blaze at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Monday. They were able to preserve the building and many of its artifacts, but the organ was destroyed and will have to be rebuilt. The church had been restored as recently as 2018.
Local priest Sebastien Roussel told local media that they were able to save the tabernacle as well as some statues.
The church had been hosting mass every other Sunday to a congregation of roughly 300 people. Catholicism has dropped dramatically in France over the last few decades.
