Vandals smashed three stained glass windows of the heritage listed St Brigid’s Catholic Church in Northbridge in the early hours of November 26.
Assistant parish priest Fr Andre Nahhas discovered the damage inside the church as he prepared for the 7am Mass.
Less than two weeks earlier, the parish opened its doors to the public as part of the Perth Heritage Days celebrations.
A presentation was given on the history behind the 109-year-old stained glass windows.
Parish priest Fr Alfonsas Savickis said the act of vandalism was “upsetting”.
“There’s certainly a lot of vengeance there,” he said. “It shows the spirit of evil in society.”
The incident occurred just days before the parish was due to host a concert in celebration of the restoration work done to the building over the past two years.
Fr Alfonsas told The Record the timing couldn’t have been worse.
“Instead, what [people attending the concert] are going to see is an attack on the beauty of the restored work,” he said.
Fr Alfonsas said he was unsure why someone would attack the church, but said the recent removal of several cars from the adjoining car park, which is on government land, may have caused some anger.
Glass was scattered inside the church as far as the opposite wall, but no rocks or missiles were found. “Somebody’s come with the intention of using an instrument the size and the force of a hammer to get the projectiles so far,” Fr Alfonsas said.
In the 1990s, the church windows were smashed, prompting their covering with perspex, but this meant the windows could not be opened. Fr Alfonsas said he would now consider installing security cameras around the building.
The parish, which caters to several communities including Spanish, Polish, Filipino and Italian, has lodged a police report and the cost of the repairs should be covered by insurance.
Fr Alfonsas said dealing with vandalism was just another challenge in today’s world.
“What do you expect in Northbridge?” he asked. “People give king hit punches down the road. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again.
“It’s just a reminder that the devil doesn’t sleep, and evil is around, especially in Northbridge, and we have to deal with it.”