Church burned down in Chile: "They burned the temple but they did not burn the faith"

Last updated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 PM

In the first demonstration of the year against President Piñera's government, demonstrators burned the church of San Francesco Borgia and its furnishings on Friday, January 3. The Bishop of the Diocese of the Army, Bishop Santiago Silva Retamales, celebrated a Mass of reparation for the church under his jurisdiction.

The Bishop of the Diocese of Chilean Armed Forces, Bishop Santiago Silva Retamales, presided at a Mass of reparation in front of the church of San Francisco Borgia, dedicated to the gendarmerie, which was set on fire last Friday by a group of hooded men who were demonstrating in a nearby square.

"They burned the temple, but they did not burn the community, they did not burn the faith," Bishop Silva said during the homily at the Mass attended by the new Apostolic Nuncio to Chile, Archbishop Alberto Ortega Martin, the auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Santiago, the chaplains of the three branches of the Armed Forces, the director general of the Carabinieri and hundreds of officers and civilians.

The need for a "conversion of heart"

In an improvised altar in front of the burnt church doors, the Army Bishop reflected on "the violence, the just desires of the people, the lack of dialogue, the lack of respect for people and institutions", which were expressed through the demonstrations and street riots that, since October 2019, have plunged into chaos several cities in the country, especially the capital. "We need a conversion of heart, so that the Lord, in the face of this institutional church destroyed by the Carabinieri, may never make us lose the desire to have a Saviour so that we can rebuild our society, as a society in justice, peace and law," stressed Bishop Silva.

The Church of St. Francis Borgia, built at the end of the 19th century and assigned to the gendarmes in 1976, was attacked by a group of hooded men who were taking part in a demonstration in a nearby square. The demonstrators took out chairs, furniture and Bibles, which were burnt in front of the compound while the interior of the church was completely destroyed as the vandals blocked the action of the fire brigade to bring the fire under control.

At the end of the reparation Mass, together with the prayer of the Hail Mary, the community was invited to open and pass through the doors of the burnt church.

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Alina Tufani - Vatican City

Source: Vatican News