Church leaders covered the graffiti with white paper after it was discovered
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Graffiti was discovered Thursday morning on the doors of a church on the Grand Rapids’ west side.
Several words and images were spray painted on to the front doors of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church on Garfield Avenue. The vandalism was discovered early Thursday morning as parishioners were arriving for 7:45 a.m. mass.
Parish manager Amber Hiske says the church has only dealt with one other minor incident of vandalism in recent history. The previous incident happened inside the church.
“We’ve been good neighbors here for the 100 years we’ve been here, and counting, and we haven’t had anything like this happen in the past.”
The damage discovered Thursday was isolated to the outside of three doors. Church leaders walked throughout the building and found no indication that the vandals had come inside.
Church leaders covered the graffiti with white paper after it was discovered
As FOX 17 was outside speaking to Hiske, several community members walked by, commenting on how unfortunate the situation was.
Hiske says the community has been reaching out in a big way, saying, “We’ve already had parishioners and various neighbors come by, ‘I’m so sorry, can we help with this?’ We’re just waiting for the police investigation.”
If you are interested in helping clean up the graffiti, the church asks that you contact the parish office.
FOX 17 has reached out to Grand Rapids police for comment but have not yet heard back. Church leaders tell us they are aware of the situation.
