Arson attacks were prevalent among a surge in anti-Christian hates crimes in May, according to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe).
The watchdog’s May report shows 37 verified anti-Christian hate crimes across 11 European countries. The crimes include 13 arson attacks, 10 acts of vandalism, three cases of desecration, three incidents of physical violence, three thefts targeting religious objects, three cases of vandalism and violence, one case of incitement and one disrupted worship service.
“This continued prevalence of fire-setting against Christian sites remains one of the most serious patterns documented during the year,” the report stated.
The 13 verified arson incidents represent the highest monthly total that investigators have recorded this year. The report dubbed the monthly figure “exceptionally high” as blazes hit properties across multiple countries, including attacks on church buildings, chapels, parish buildings and other Christian property.
In Germany, four arson attacks damaged properties in Marbach, Munich, Delmenhorst and Gladbeck. The country also saw severe property violations; in Knittelsheim, assailants scattered consecrated communion hosts across a church altar, while unknown persons daubed satanic graffiti inside the Barbara Chapel in Penzberg. Vandals in Bad Oeynhausen deliberately damaged church bells and live power lines, creating potential physical harm for the community.
In Italy, authorities recorded eight hate crimes, including four cases that carried an explicit ideological link. In Genoa, attackers defaced the Basilica of San Siro with anti-clerical and anarchist graffiti demanding that perpetrators “burn churches.”
Italian monitors also recorded a desecration at the parish of San Paolo della Croce in Rome, and heavy vandalism at the Church of Sant’Angelo Magno in Ascoli Piceno, where attackers destroyed a crucifix, sacred statues and a historic 17th-century organ.
Three arson cases in France included an attack at the Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Lentigny, alongside a highly dangerous suspected arson at a parish hall in Tergnier while children were inside the building.
French vandals also ransacked the Church of Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens during Pentecost at Pont-du-Casse near Agen. In Paris, thieves broke a crucifix and stole a figurine of Christ from Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In South Gironde, a wave of burglaries targeted several churches, resulting in altar desecration and tabernacle profanation. Assailants in Saint-Martin-la-Sauveté tore Christian statues from graves, while attackers in Poleymieux-au-Mont-d’Or near Lyon beheaded a statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus.
In Krosno, Poland, an attempted arson damaged an image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help inside a desecrated chapel, while vandals in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska defaced several chapels with physical damage and satanic inscriptions.
Arsonists and vandals also targeted two churches in Ireland. In Warrington, England, police launched an arson investigation after discovering fires inside a disused church building.
Violent crime targeted clergy as well, as robbers held a Portuguese priest hostage for 90 minutes while they looted a church building and parish house in Cantanhede. In Chania, Greece, a shotgun attack damaged a historic church bell tower. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, criminals forced entry into the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. George in Tuzla, marking another repeated act of vandalism against the site.
In Leipzig, Germany, a Christian-run café announced its permanent closure after organized harassment campaigns by left-wing extremists. The operators reported 26 attacks over the past two-and-a-half years, which included repeated vandalism, graffiti, and butyric acid attacks, making continued business financially impossible.
The report cited the closure as evidence of “the persistence of repeated and sustained campaigns targeting Christian institutions.”
“According to the operators, the attacks were carried out by individuals associated with the far-left extremist scene and ultimately made the continued operation of the café financially impossible,” OIDAC Europe stated.
Left-wing extremists reportedly also assaulted and seriously injured two Catholic fraternity students in Innsbruck, Austria. In Bielsk Podlaski, Poland, an assailant insulted and attacked a nun at a bus stop, tearing a cross necklace from her neck.
Perpetrators also fired steel and plastic balls during a Mass that approximately 200 worshippers attended at the Holy Spirit Church in Hanau, Germany. The projectiles shattered windows, and the report noted that the attack placed the congregation in immediate danger.
“The incidents recorded this month… illustrate that anti-Christian hostility is not limited to attacks against church buildings,” the report stated. “Several cases targeted Christian individuals, religious communities, and organizations directly, demonstrating that visible expressions of Christian faith and Christian presence in public life can themselves become targets of aggression or intimidation.”
The overall dataset includes widespread vandalism, desecration, physical assaults, and thefts targeting religious spaces and individuals. Germany led the continent with 10 reported incidents, followed closely by Italy and France with eight cases each. Poland recorded three cases, Ireland reported two, while Austria, Portugal, Spain, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Bosnia and Herzegovina each documented one verified incident.
“Germany also recorded numerous additional non-counted thefts, break-ins, damage incidents, and fires under investigation,” noted the report.
OIDAC Europe also noted widespread property damage that fell outside the official statistics due to unverified bias. This additional data included local authorities investigating nine church building fires alongside 14 unverified acts of vandalism, 24 break-ins, and dozens of thefts.
Separate figures confirmed last month to the Greek Parliament by the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports reported 4,409 incidents involving Orthodox Church properties in the country between 2015 and 2024. This accounted for 96.05 percent of all recorded incidents involving religious sites in Greece over that 10-year period, covering attacks, vandalism, thefts, desecrations, and burglaries.
The publication of the data comes as the FIFA World Cup prepares to kick off across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico on Thursday (June 11). Anja Tang, the executive director for OIDAC Europe, wrote an introduction to the report noting a negative reaction to sports personalities expressing their faith in the public sphere in the run-up to the matches.
“With the beginning of the World Cup, debates surrounding Christian football players have once again highlighted how expressions of faith continue to attract public scrutiny,” Tang wrote. “While athletes are increasingly encouraged to bring their identities into the public sphere, openly expressing traditional Christian beliefs can still provoke disproportionate criticism and controversy.”
The organization stressed that the official numbers represent only a baseline of the issue across the continent.
“The figures presented in this report reflect only documented cases known to OIDAC Europe and therefore cannot capture the full extent of anti-Christian hostility in Europe,” the report noted. “Nevertheless, the incidents recorded during May point to a continuing pattern of attacks affecting Christian places of worship, religious symbols, and Christian organizations across a broad range of European countries.”
