MÉLISSA GÉLINAS
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE

SHAWVILLE – Easter Sunday took an unexpected turn for St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Shawville when Reverend Eric Morin discovered the church had been vandalized early that morning (April 20).

“The word that comes to mind is disappointment,” said Rev. Morin. “I find the situation sad and unfortunate, especially because it happened on Easter Sunday, our most important celebration of the year.”

“When I arrived at the church for service around 10:30 am, I saw the damage that had been done,” he explained. “The light fixture that illuminates the back door had been ripped out, the surveillance camera was gone, the basement window had been smashed, and the words ‘No fate’ were carved into the front door with a knife.”

The church’s alarm system was triggered when the window was broken. Around 5 am, officers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) in the Pontiac MRC detachment responded to the call. “We went to Main Street in Shawville in connection with a mischief complaint,” said SQ media relations officer Marc Tessier. According to Tessier, the window may have been smashed with the broken door handle. However, no one is believed to have entered the building.

Rev. Morin said he does not yet know the estimated cost of the damage but suspects it will exceed the insurance deductible. “We probably won’t receive full compensation from insurance to cover all the repairs,” he noted. “We’re currently in the process of taking the necessary steps. Following this incident, we’ll be looking into additional security measures.”

As of now, no suspects have been arrested and the investigation is ongoing, according to Tessier.

Photo – Plastic covers the basement window of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Shawville, which was vandalized on Easter morning. (DS)